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Kathy’s Garden Writing |
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PLEASE HAVE SNOW AND MISTLETOE What would Christmas be without mistletoe? Featured in song and ritual, it has become a curious part of our holiday tradition! Mistletoe has figured in mythology for centuries, from the Greeks to the Romans to the Celtic Druids. Its name and history derive from a simplistic understanding of its botony, as early cultures attempted to make sense of and use the magical world of nature. There are over 900 species of mistletoe around the world, with some of the most beautiful specimens growing in the tropics. The Christmas mistletoe familiar to Americans is found in temperate parts of the United States, growing as a semi-parasitic plant in mostly hardwood trees. Obscure for most of the year, embedded in tree branches high above the ground, it makes its appearance in autumn nestled in its denuded deciduous host. Then the evergreen leaves of mistletoe, and its translucent white berries, take center stage. Parasitism is rare in the plant kingdom; but this is how mistletoe survives, sinking roots beneath the bark of its host for water and nutrients. The semi-parasitic Christmas variety also engages in some photosynthesis, thus its evergreen status. Its mode of implantation into the host tree by birds, who excrete the sticky seed of the mistletoe berry while roosting in tree limbs, suggested the Anglo-Saxon name – “mistel” for dung and “tan” for twig. Far from the romantic connotation of contemporary usage, the name literally describes what early peoples observed. But fanciful legends quickly followed, as different cultures attempted to explain this unusual and seemingly mystical plant, growing unanchored to the earth and emerging during the winter solstice when all else appears barren. An Old Norse myth associates mistletoe with the power to bring peace to enemies, who lay down their weapons and embrace when under its bower. The Druids used it in their winter solstice rituals as a symbol of fertility and immortality. They also believed that, once cut, it should not touch the ground, or it will lose its potency. Scandinavians are credited with the obligation to kiss under the mistletoe, possibly as an offshoot of the older Norse fable. Only in the nineteenth century did it emerge as a Christmas decoration and gradually become part of our holiday tradition. Mistletoe etiquette requires a man to kiss any woman found standing under a sprig, and then to remove a berry. Once all the berries are plucked, its power dissipates. Complying with the prescribed kiss brings good luck -- a long and happy marriage for a couple, and wedlock within the year for a maiden. Some girls took the myth so seriously that they tucked a sprig under their pillow at night, inviting dreams of their Prince Charming. So, while a Christmas without snow may be acceptable, a holiday season without mistletoe would be a loss of opportunity indeed, for all those who seek peace and love and perhaps even fertility during this otherwise barren time of year. Kathleen Arcuri The Benton News December, 2008 |