Christmas Traditions: Mistletoe

Mistletoe is a white-berried parasitic plant that grows on the trunk of trees, usually on apple and oak trees. Early pagan beliefs held that the mistletoe had magical powers of peace and joy. A story of the Norse goddess Frigga, tells how she blessed the plant to bestow a kiss on all who passed beneath it.

In the Celtic language, mistletoe means “all-heal”, and was thought to be a cure for sterility and diseases. Celtic druids would hang them over doorways as protection against lightning and other evils. A sprig over the cradle would protect the child, and an entire herd of cattle would be protected by giving a sprig to the first cow calving after the New Year. Enemies meeting under a mistletoe had to call truce until the following day. From this comes the custom of hanging mistletoe from the ceiling or doorway and exchanging kisses.

I stood for a moment in tremor of doubt,
Then kissed her, half looking for war:
But – “Why did you wait, Sir!” she said with a pout,
“Pray, what is the mistletoe for?”- from a poem by Clinton Scollard

According to British superstition, a young woman who was not kissed under the mistletoe would not be married during that year. Since a berry was always plucked off at every kiss, maidens in former times saw to it that the branches did not fail to have a plentiful supply of berries. One who stands underneath the mistletoe cannot refuse to be kissed.