MISTLETOE
Christmas Mistletoe
Mistletoe has been associated with love and peace since ages. Even two hundred years before the birth of Christ, mistletoe was used by Druids in the celebration of winter season. They believed in the magic of mistletoe. It was thought to have healing powers, which could cure anything and everything, ranging from female infertility to poison ingestion. Even enemies stopped fighting and declared a temporary ceasefire whenever they happened to chance upon mistletoe.
Mistletoe Plant
The Christmas mistletoe plant is a hemi parasite i.e., a partial parasite. It grows either on the branches or on the trunk of a tree. Being a parasite, it penetrates its roots into the host tree and consumes all its nutrients. However, mistletoe can also grow individually and produce its own food with the help of photosynthesis. Still, it is usually found growing on trees, as a parasitic plant. There are basically the following two types of mistletoes:
American Mistletoe
The American mistletoe, scientifically known as Phoradendron flavescens, is native to North America. It is found growing on trees, right from New Jersey to Florida and is the mistletoe species that is mainly associated with the kissing tradition of Christmas.
European Mistletoe
The European mistletoe, Viscum album, is a green shrub with small, yellow flowers and white, sticky berries. It is seen growing, usually, on apple trees and, rarely, on oak.
Tradition
Mistletoe has been associated with many properties since ages. Among its numerous qualities is the power to bestow life and fertility as well as to cure a person of poison intake. The custom of using mistletoe to decorate houses at Christmas dates back to the time of the Druids. The concept of the kissing under the mistletoe is said to be a variation of the kissing ball tradition of the 18th century.
Christmas Mistletoe History
The history and origin of the Christmas mistletoe can be traced back to the ancient Scandinavian custom as well as to the Norse myth. The Scandinavian people believed mistletoe to be a plant of peace. Even if enemies happened to pass beneath the plant, they had to lay down their arms and call truce atleast until the next day. Slowly and gradually, this custom gave rise to the kissing tradition that is still in vogue. However, Christmas mistletoe is also very much associated with one of the Norse myths, known as the myth of Baldur.
Baldur, the God of vegetation, was the son of Norse goddess, Frigga. When he was born, Frigga made each and every plant, animal and even inanimate object promise that it will never ever harm Baldur. Somehow, the mistletoe plant escaped the attention of Frigga and Loki, the enemy of Baldur, took advantage of this lapse. He tricked one of the other Gods into killing Baldur with a spear made of mistletoe.
With the death of Baldur, winters came into this world. To correct this situation, the Gods restored Baldur to life. After this incident, Frigga pronounced the mistletoe to be a sacred plant, which would bring love in the world, rather than death. From then onwards, whenever two people pass under mistletoe, they kiss and celebrate Baldur's resurrection. Apart from the customs and myths, the Christmas mistletoe has also been associated with kissing as it is regarded as an aphrodisiac.
Kissing Under the Mistletoe
The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is said to be associated with the Greek festival of Saturnalia. The use of mistletoe was also found in the primitive marriage rites, as it was believed that mistletoe had the power to confer fertility. Another belief connected with the mistletoe was that it possessed 'life-giving' powers. Scandinavian people considered mistletoe to be a plant of peace and people coming under it, including couples fighting amongst themselves and even enemies, had to make up or declare truce, atleast temporarily.
In the 18th century, the people of England introduced the concept of 'kissing ball'. During Christmas time, if a young lady was caught under the ball of mistletoe, she could not refuse to be kissed. Even today, the custom of exchanging a kiss under the mistletoe is found in many European countries and even Canada. Kissing under the mistletoe is an art in itself and its better to be well prepared for the time you catch, or are caught by, someone under the mistletoe.
Mistletoe Facts
The sprig of mistletoe plant has been associated with the Christmas holiday since ages. The power of mistletoe is not unknown to anyone; it makes anyone and everyone kissable around the holiday season - whether it is a friend or a relative or even a stranger. The moment anyone comes beneath a sprig of mistletoe at a Christmas party, he becomes a target for anyone who manages to see him. However, many more things are associated with the mistletoes apart from kissing. Given below are some interesting facts about the Christmas mistletoe.
Fun Facts About Mistletoe
The American mistletoe plant is the mistletoe species that is mainly associated with kissing. However, it is only one of the two mistletoe plants that are native to the North America, the other being the dwarf mistletoe.
Not even the mistletoes have been saved from the threat of extinction. About twenty species of mistletoes come in the endangered list. So, next time you pluck a mistletoe sprig, make sure that it is not from one of the endangered species.
The scientific name of American mistletoe is Phoradendron, meaning 'thief of the tree'. Though the mistletoe plant is not classified as parasitic in nature, it comes quite close. It sinks its roots into the host tree and takes away all the nutrients.
The term mistletoe is believed to be derived from an Anglo-Saxon word 'Mistal' and 'Tan', which mean 'dung' and 'twig', respectively. Thus, the meaning of mistletoe comes out to be 'dung on a twig', quite opposite to the sweet kissing tradition with which it is associated.
The seeds of mistletoe plant are quite sticky and easily glue themselves to the beaks or feathers of birds or the fur of other creatures. They usually fall near a likely host tree and start to germinate.
The seeds of the dwarf mistletoe can explode from ripe berries and spurt as far as 50 feet.
Mistletoe is poisonous for human beings, but its berries and leaves serve as a high-protein food to many animals.