_cervulus_ or ‘hobby-buck’ rather than a ‘hobby-horse’ is prominent with the widespread worship throughout the districts whence many of these notices come of the mysterious stag-horned deity, the _Cernunnos_ of the Gaulish altars[912]. On the whole I incline to think that at least amongst the Germano-Keltic peoples the agricultural gods were not mimed in procession by human representatives. It is true that in the mediaeval German processions which sprang out of those of the Kalends St. Nicholas plays a part, and that the presence of St. Nicholas may be thought to imply that of some heathen precursor. It will, however, be seen shortly that St. Nicholas may have got into these processions through a different train of ideas, equally connected with the Kalends, but not with the strictly agricultural aspect of that festival. But of the continuity of the beast-masks and other horrors of these Christmas processions with those condemned in the prohibitions, there can be no doubt[913]. A few other survivals of the _cervulus_ and its revel can be traced in various parts of Europe[914]. The sacrifices of cereals and of the juice of the vine or the barley are exemplified, the one by the traditional furmenty, plum-porridge, mince-pie, souling-cake, Yule-dough, Twelfth night cake, _pain de calende_, and other forms of ‘feasten’ cake[915]; the other by the wassail-bowl with its bobbing apple[916]. The summer ‘youling’ or ‘tree-wassailing’ is repeated in the orchard[917], and a curious Herefordshire custom represents an extension of the same principle to the ox-byre[918]. A German hen-yard custom requires mixed corn, for the familiar reason that every kind of crop must be included in the sacrifice[919].