History of Mistletoe: Why is it the Kissing plant?
Christmas throughout Christendom – Under the Mistletoe. Image: Wikimedia
HISTORY OF MISTLETOE
Mistletoe was prominent in the traditions of the Druids and the lore of Northern Europe, as I’ve mentioned previously in my article on Christmas Traditions. The Druids used the mistletoe of their sacred oak as part of their ritual five days after the new moon following the Winter Solstice.
In the Middle Ages, it was hung from ceilings or placed above stables and house doors with the belief that it would drive off evil spirits and ensure fertility.
Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows on trees. Phoradendron flavescens or Viscum album sends its roots into the tree’s bark and derives its nutrients from the tree itself, though it does engage in photosynthesis.
Etymology of Mistletoe
Mistletoe. Image: Dartmouth
The word can be traced back to the 2nd-century Anglo-Saxon “mistel,” for dung, and “tan,” for a twig; mistletan is the Old English version.
This suggests the belief that mistletoe grows from birds, though we know now that it is the bird’s droppings in trees or the seed’s sticky nature that adheres to tree bark.
Mistletoe with the Greco-Romans
Some would trace the tradition of kissing under mistletoe back to the Roman Saturnalia; indeed, the Greek goddess Artemis (Roman: Diana), patron of the city of Ephesus (New Testament, Book of Acts 19:24-41), wore a crown of mistletoe as an emblem of fertility and immortality.
However, the most fully developed myth about mistletoe comes from Norse mythology.
Norse Mistletoe
“Baldur’s Death” by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1817). Image: Norse Mythology
I was in Iceland earlier this year. From there comes our knowledge of Norse mythology. The 13th-century Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, based on older sources, relate the tragedy of the death of Baldur, which was an omen of Ragnarök, the great battle and the death of the gods.
The story goes as follows. Baldur, the Norse god of light and the summer sun, saw his own death in a dream. Frigga, his mother and the goddess of beauty and love – and from whom we get the word Friday – compelled the elements, plants, and animals not to kill Baldur. But she neglected to extract this same promise from the young and insignificant mistletoe.
Loki, the god of mischief – brother of Thor in the Marvel comics and movies, but in Norse mythology, he was the blood-brother of Odin – had an idea.
Thor comic #274. “The Eye – And the Arrow!” Release date: May 9, 1978. Image: Marvel Fandom Wiki
Realizing that mistletoe grows on trees and has no roots in the ground, Loki fashioned a poisoned dart from mistletoe, and with the aid of Baldur’s blind brother, Hoder shot the mistletoe missile to kill Baldur. His death brought winter and his mother’s lamentation. So say the medieval Norse myths we learn from the Icelandic Eddas.
Later traditions say that Frigga’s tears over her son changed the red mistletoe berries white, and henceforth and forever, mistletoe would bring love rather than death into the world. Any two people who passed under the mistletoe would exchange a kiss in honor of Baldur.
Christian Mistletoe Customs
Later, Christian customs called it Herbe de la Croix or Lignum Sanctae Crucis, meaning “Wood of the Sacred Cross,” because of the belief that it was used to supply the wood for Christ’s cross.
For its role, mistletoe was condemned to be a parasitic vine. Further penance for the plant was that it bless everyone who walked beneath it.
Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
billpetro.com
