The Druids’ Mistletoe

Those who know me know I love folklore. From folktales to folkart, the wisdom of the folk (the common people) says so much about how what we believe as a culture/a group.

In researching and compiling information for FolkHeart Press' 2012 Winterlore e-book, I came across some pretty interesting information, including this bit of mistletoe lore:

For the ancient Druids mistletoe was a sacred plant. On the winter solstice they called Alban Arthan, the Chief Druid would cut the sacred mistletoe from the Oak tree. (Druid was the word for the Oak tree).

Cut with a golden sickle on the sixth night of the new moon after the solstice, its sprigs were not to touch the ground.

The sprigs were passed out and people hung them over doorways as protection against thunder, lightning and other evils.

More about Mistletoe

Anglo-Saxons:

Kissing under the mistletoe was connected to the legend of Freya, goddess of love, beauty and fertility. According to legend, a man had to kiss any young girl who, without realizing it, found herself accidentally under a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

If a couple in love kissed under the mistletoe, it was considered a promise to marry, as well as a prediction of happiness and long life.

Norse:

The best loved Norse god Balder was so loved by his mother Frigga, goddess that she went through the world, seeking promises from everything that sprang from the four elements--fire, water, air, and earth--that they would not harm her beloved son.

Loki, a sly, evil spirit, found a loophole: mistletoe. He made an arrow from its wood and  took the arrow to Hoder, Balder's brother, who was blind. Guiding Holder's hand, Loki directed the arrow at Balder's heart, and he fell dead.

Frigga's tears became the mistletoe's white berries. Balder is restored to life. She is so grateful that she reverses the reputation of the offending plant--making it a symbol of love and promising to bestow a kiss upon anyone who passes under it.

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