The oak is a sacred species for Druids. It features in the Celtic ritual of oak and mistletoe where mistletoe is cut from the boughs of the oak tree. In Cantabria, the oak is a part of folklore, and symbolic and magic beliefs. The oak was used as a Maypole, a pole that presides over festivities, around which people danced to celebrate the rebirth of vegetation in Spring. The oak symbolized the union between the sky and the earth, as the axis of the world. The oak played a role in ceremonies to attract rain and fire as it would attract lightning strikes.