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Mistletoe
a 2012 compilation by
Only 4 U Kids
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Origins of its name - The
common name of the plant is derived from the ancient belief
that mistletoe was propagated from bird droppings. This belief
was related to the then-accepted principle that life could
spring spontaneously from dung. It was observed in ancient
times that mistletoe would often appear on a branch or twig
where birds had left droppings. "Mistel" is the Anglo-Saxon
word for "dung," and "tan" is the word for "twig". So,
mistletoe means "dung-on-a-twig".
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The
Plant:
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| Mistletoe is especially interesting
botanically because it is a partial parasite (a
"hemiparasite"). As a parasitic plant, it grows on the branches
or trunk of a tree and actually sends out roots that penetrate
into the tree and take up nutrients. But mistletoe is also
capable for growing on its own; like other plants it can
produce its own food by photosynthesis. Mistletoe, however, is
more commonly found growing as a parasitic plant. There are two
types of mistletoe. The mistletoe that is commonly used as a
Christmas decoration (Phoradendron flavescens) is native to
North America and grows as a parasite on trees from New Jersey
to Florida. The other type of mistletoe, Viscum album, is of
European origin. The European mistletoe is a green shrub with
small, yellow flowers and white, sticky berries which are
considered poisonous. It commonly seen on apple but only rarely
on oak trees. The rarer oak mistletoe was greatly venerated by
the ancient Celts and Germans and used as a ceremonial plant by
early Europeans. The Greeks and earlier peoples thought that it
had mystical powers and down through the centuries it became
associated with many folklore customs. |
| The Mistletoe
Magic: |
| From the earliest times mistletoe has
been one of the most magical, mysterious, and sacred plants of
European folklore. It was considered to bestow life and
fertility; a protection against poison; and an aphrodisiac. The
mistletoe of the sacred oak was especially sacred to the
ancient Celtic Druids. On the sixth night of the moon
white-robed Druid priests would cut the oak mistletoe with a
golden sickle. Two white bulls would be sacrificed amid prayers
that the recipients of the mistletoe would prosper. Later, the
ritual of cutting the mistletoe from the oak came to symbolize
the emasculation of the old King by his successor. Mistletoe
was long regarded as both a sexual symbol and the "soul" of the
oak. It was gathered at both mid-summer and winter solstices,
and the custom of using mistletoe to decorate houses at
Christmas is a survival of the Druid and other pre-Christian
traditions. The Greeks also thought that it had mystical powers
and down through the centuries it became associated with many
folklore customs. In the Middle Ages and later, branches of
mistletoe were hung from ceilings to ward off evil spirits. In
Europe they were placed over house and stable doors to prevent
the entrance of witches. It was also believed that the oak
mistletoe could extinguish fire. This was associated with an
earlier belief that the mistletoe itself could come to the tree
during a flash of lightning. The traditions which began with
the European mistletoe were transferred to the similar American
plant with the process of immigration and settlement.
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| Kissing under
the mistletoe: |
| Kissing under the
mistletoe is first found associated with the Greek festival of
Saturnalia and later with primitive marriage rites. They
probably originated from two beliefs. One belief was that it
has power to bestow fertility. It was also believed that the
dung from which the mistletoe would also possess "life-giving"
power. In Scandinavia, mistletoe was considered a plant of
peace, under which enemies could declare a truce or warring
spouses kiss and make-up. Later, the eighteenth-century English
credited 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. In some parts of England the Christmas mistletoe is
burned on the twelfth night lest all the boys and girls who
have kissed under it never marry. Whether we believe it or not,
it always makes for fun and frolic at Christmas celebrations.
Even if the pagan significance has been long forgotten, the
custom of exchanging a kiss under the mistletoe can still be
found in many European countries as well as in Canada. Thus if
a couple in love exchanges a kiss under the mistletoe, it is
interpreted as a promise to marry, as well as a prediction of
happiness and long life. In France, the custom linked to
mistletoe was reserved for New Year's Day: "Au gui l'An neuf"
(Mistletoe for the New Year). Today, kisses can be exchanged
under the mistletoe any time during the holiday season.
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| The Legend
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| For its supposedly
mystical power mistletoe has long been at the center of many
folklore. One is associated with the Goddess Frigga. 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. He was finally restored by
Frigga, the goddess and his mother. 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. |
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