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. The branches had to be
caught before they touched the ground. They then divided
the branches into many sprigs and distributed them 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.
***
Mistletoe is an aerial parasite that has no roots of its
own and lives off the tree that it attaches itself to.
Without that tree it would die. Mistletoe was thought to
be sacred by ancient Europeans. Druid priests employed
it 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.
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.
