on St. John’s eve and cut it in two, and if the seeds on each half were found to be equal in number, this was a token that these two would be soon united in marriage; or if the halves contained an unequal number of seeds, the one who possessed the half with the greater number would be married first.  If a seed were cut in two, it denoted trouble to the party holding the larger portion of the seed.  If two seeds were cut, it denoted early death or widowhood to one of the parties.  If the apple were sour or sweet, the flavour indicated the temper of the parties.  There was a practice common among young people of peeling an apple in an unbroken peel, and throwing the peeled skin over the right shoulder in order to ascertain from the manner in which it fell, first, whether the person who threw it would be married soon, and second, the trade or profession of the person to whom they would be married.  If the skin after being thrown remained unbroken, they would be married soon, and the person to whom they would be married was ascertained from the form which the fallen skin presented; this form might assume the shape of a letter, in that case it was the initial letter of the unknown parties name, or it might assume the form of some trade tool, &c.  Imagination had free scope here.  The apple tree itself was considered a lucky tree to have near a house, but its principal virtue lay in the fruit.

Holly.  This name is probably a corruption of the word holy, as this plant has been used from time immemorial as a protection against evil influence.  It was hung round, or planted near houses, as a protection against lightning.  Its common use at Christmas is apparently the survival of an ancient Roman custom, occurring during the festival to Saturn, to which god the holly was dedicated.  While the Romans were holding this feast, which occurred about the time of the winter solstice, they decked the outsides of their houses with holly; at the same time the Christians were quietly celebrating the birth of Christ, and to avoid detection they outwardly followed the custom of their heathen neighbours, and decked their houses with holly also.  In this way the holly came to be connected with our Christmas customs. (See chapter on Festivals.) This plant was also regarded as a symbol of the resurrection.  The use of mistletoe along with holly is probably due to the notion that in winter the fairies took shelter under its leaves, and that they protected all who sheltered the plant.  The origin of kissing under the mistletoe is considered to have come from our Saxon ancestors, who regarded this plant as dedicated to Friga, the goddess of love.

The Aspen was said to have been the tree on which Judas hanged himself after the betrayal of his Master, and ever since its leaves have trembled with shame.