Mistletoe
is a symbol of peace and joy and signifies friendship and goodwill.
Mistletoe was considered sacred by the Norse Scandinavians, the Druids,
and the Native North Americans.
In Norse theology, when Balder, the
sun god, was killed by the evil spirit Loki with an arrow shaped from a
mistletoe, Balder’s mother, Frigga, wept tears of white berries, which
brought him back to life. Frigga blessed the plant and bestowed a kiss
on all that passed beneath it.
Druids used mistletoe as protection
against ghosts, witches, and goblins, placing them over doorways, in a
child’s cradle, and by the first cow calving after the New Year to
protect the entire herd. Whenever enemies met under mistletoe in the
forest, they had to lay down their weapons for a day. Every year, the
priests cut the mistletoe from the oak tree with a golden sickle. The
people would wear sprigs of holly in their hair when they went to watch.
During
the Saturnalia festival, Romans used holly to honor Saturn. They gave
holly wreaths decorated with images of Saturn. To avoid persecution,
the early Christians decked their halls with boughs of holly.
Eventually, this custom transformed from a pagan tradition to a
Christian symbol of Christmas. The thorns of the mistletoe came to
represent Christ’s crown.
In the 18th century, kissing under the
mistletoe came to mean a promise of marriage. If a young woman stood
under the mistletoe, she couldn’t be refused a kiss, although that kiss
could represent anything from romance to friendship. If a girl remained
unkissed, it was believed that she would not marry the coming year.