Mistletoe - origins & trivia
The last in our Sacred trio of plants is the Mistletoe.
The Mistletoe was held sacred by the Norse, the Celtic Druids and the North American Indians. The Druid priests would cut mistletoe from an oak tree with a golden sickle, although after reading Nimue Brown's blog yesterday I agree that the sickles probably weren't made of gold as the blade would never have been sharp enough.
The branches had to be caught before they touched the ground. This probably stems from the fact that mistletoe never lays its roots into the ground but instead lives off the tree as a parasite.
The branches were then divided into many sprigs and distributed to the people, who hung them over doorways as protection against thunder, lightning and other evils. The folklore continued over the centuries. It was believed that a sprig placed in a baby's cradle would protect the child from goblins. Giving a sprig to the first cow calving after New Year would protect the entire herd.
The Mistletoe was held sacred by the Norse, the Celtic Druids and the North American Indians. The Druid priests would cut mistletoe from an oak tree with a golden sickle, although after reading Nimue Brown's blog yesterday I agree that the sickles probably weren't made of gold as the blade would never have been sharp enough.
The branches had to be caught before they touched the ground. This probably stems from the fact that mistletoe never lays its roots into the ground but instead lives off the tree as a parasite.
The branches were then divided into many sprigs and distributed to the people, who hung them over doorways as protection against thunder, lightning and other evils. The folklore continued over the centuries. It was believed that a sprig placed in a baby's cradle would protect the child from goblins. Giving a sprig to the first cow calving after New Year would protect the entire herd.
Mistletoe is a symbol for peace and joy. The idea originated
in the ancient times of the Druids: whenever enemies met under the mistletoe in
the forest, they had to lay down their arms and observe a truce until the next
day. From this comes the custom of hanging a ball of mistletoe from the ceiling
and exchanging kisses under it as a sign of friendship and goodwill.
In the 18th Century, the exchanging of kisses between a man
and a woman was adopted as a promise to marry. At Christmas a young lady
standing under a ball of mistletoe cannot refuse to be kissed. The kiss could
mean deep romance, lasting friendship and goodwill. It was believed that if the
girl remained unkissed, she cannot expect to marry the following year.
Druid priests
employed mistletoe in their sacrifices to the gods while Celtic people felt it
possessed miraculous healing powers. In fact, in the Celtic language mistletoe
means "all-heal." It not only cured diseases, but could also render
poisons harmless, make humans and animals prolific, keep one safe from witchcraft,
protect the house from ghosts and even make them speak. With all of this, it
was thought to bring good luck to anyone privileged to have it. I'm not so sure about this as mistletoe is actually poisonous ... so please don't eat it.
Norsemen offer us a beautiful symbolic myth about mistletoe.
The story goes that Mistletoe was the sacred plant of Frigga, goddess of love
and the mother of Balder, the god of the summer sun. Balder had a dream of
death, which greatly alarmed his mother, for should he die, all life on earth
would end. In an attempt to keep this from happening, Frigga went at once to
air, fire, water, earth, and every animal and plant seeking a promise that no
harm would come to her son. Balder now could not be hurt by anything on earth
or under the earth. But Balder had one enemy, Loki, god of evil and he knew of
one plant that Frigga had overlooked in her quest to keep her son safe. It grew
neither on the earth nor under the earth, but on apple and oak trees. It was
lowly mistletoe. So Loki made an arrow tip of the mistletoe, gave to the blind
god of winter, Hoder, who shot it, striking Balder dead. The sky paled and all
things in earth and heaven wept for the sun god. For three days each element
tried to bring Balder back to life. Frigga, the goddess and his mother finally
restored him. It is said the tears she shed for her son turned into the pearly
white berries on the mistletoe plant and in her joy Frigga kissed everyone who
passed beneath the tree on which it grew. The story ends with a decree that who
should ever stand under the humble mistletoe, no harm should befall them, only
a kiss, a token of love.
What could be more natural than to translate the spirit of
this old myth into a Christian way of thinking and accept the mistletoe as the
emblem of that Love which conquers Death? Its medicinal properties, whether
real or imaginary, make it a just emblematic of that Tree of Life, the leaves
of which are for the healing of the nations thus paralleling it to the Virgin
Birth of Christ.
Later, the eighteenth-century English credited mistletoe not
with miraculous healing powers, but with a certain magical appeal called a
kissing ball. At Christmas time a young lady standing under a ball of
mistletoe, brightly trimmed with evergreens, ribbons, and ornaments, cannot
refuse to be kissed. Such a kiss could mean deep romance or lasting friendship
and goodwill. If the girl remained unkissed, she cannot expect not to marry the
following year. Whether we believe it or not, it always makes for fun and
frolic at Christmas celebrations.
Adapted from thehistoryofchristmas.com
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