Sitting under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
One last candle burning low,
All the sleepy dancers gone,
Just one candle burning on,
Shadows lurking everywhere:
Some one came, and kissed me there.
Walter De La Mare 1800s
Many centuries ago, the Celtic peoples of Europe believed that the mystical powers of mistletoe were strong enough to
force enemies to lay their weapons down and call a truce. So they hung mistletoe over their doorways
during the Yule season to bring peace and goodwill to all who entered.
Mistletoe was a plant sacred to the Celtic peoples as a magical plant with the power to heal disease, enhance
fertility, ward off evil, make poisons harmless,and generally bring good luck and blessings. In fact, the word
mistletoe means "All-Heal."
As it turns out, mistletoe does have some powerful healing properties. Per the National Cancer Institute:
"Extracts of mistletoe have been shown
to kill cancer cells in the laboratory and to boost the immune system (the complex group of organs and
cells that defends the body against infection or disease). For this reason, mistletoe has been
classified as a type of biological response modifier (a substance that stimulates the body's
response to infection and disease).
But even without it's magical and healing properties considered, it's easy to see why mistletoe would have
been regarded with some mystery. It is an unusual plant which grows
in the branches of trees as a semi-parisite. In the dead of winter, when the
tree has no leaves, the mistletoe hangs bright green in clumps, for like holly and ivy it is an evergreen. It
particularly favors oak trees, which were the most sacred of the early European people's trees.
Mistletoe also figured prominently in Norse legends. The legends tell that mistletoe came
from Frigga, the Norse God of Love, who wept at the loss of her son and as she wept, her tears turned to mistletoe berries. The mistletoe berries
brought her son back to life After that, any time anyone walked under a tree bearing mistletoe,
Frigga would kiss them.
During the middle ages, mistletoe was banned as an altar decoration in Christian Churches because of its association
to earlier religions. An exception was the Cathedral of York, which at one point would hang mistletoe in the
sanctuary, a symbol of Christ, the Divine Healer.
As with most Christmas traditions, people continued to pass their traditions down, and that included mistletoe.
The mystical and religious meanings were forgotten for the most part, but the kiss under the mistletoe,
the symbolism of goodwill and friendship, happiness and good luck persists even today in many homes.
We hope you are enjoying our Christmas Countdown pages. The images on this page are all restored vintage postcards.
We have an entire holiday collection of vintage printable greeting cards available now.
Read more about them at this link:
Printable Greeting Cards
1/2 cup brown sugar
