The Story of Mistletoe
Sweet emblem of returning peace, the heart's full gush and loves release,
Spirits in human fondness flow and greet the pearly mistletoe.
Oh! Happy tricksome time of mirth, giv’n to the stars of sky and earth!
May all the best of feeling know, the custom of the mistletoe.
Married and single, proud and free, yield to the season, trim with glee:
Time will not stay ... he cheats us so ... A kiss? ... ‘tis gone ... the mistletoe.
The poem above was written in December, 1826, and last line refers to the custom of plucking a berry every time a kiss was stolen beneath the kissing bough. Once the berries were gone, the kissing was over. By Victorian times, the kissing bough was quite a complex construction. Five circles of wire were joined together to form a globe, and evergreens were bound around the wires. Apples were hung in the center and there could also be candles fixed. A large bunch of mistletoe was hung beneath. It could also be decorated with paper flowers. As there would be few flowers available in December in England, paper flowers might have been popular Christmas decorations. The mistletoe bough from 1794, however, is simply tied up and hung from the ceiling.
Mistletoe or “the golden bough” was held sacred by both the Celtic Druids and the Norseman. Once called “Allheal,” it was used in folk medicine to cure many ills. North American Indians also used it for toothaches, measles and dog bites. Mistletoe was the plant of peace in Scandinavian antiquity. If enemies met by chance beneath it in a forest, they laid down their arms and maintained a truce until the next day. In parts of England and Wales farmers would give the Christmas bunch of mistletoe to the first cow that calved in the New Year. This was thought to bring good luck to the entire herd.
Vikings dating back to the eighth century believed that mistletoe had the power to raise humans from the dead, relating to the resurrection of Balder, the god of the summer sun. Balder had a dream that he was going to die. His mother, Frigga, the goddess of love and beauty, was frantic about his dream and said that if he died, everything on Earth would die. To ensure her son's safety, Frigga went to all of the elements (air, fire, water and earth, as well as to all of the animals and plants) and asked them not to kill Balder. In the same way a child would be heckled these days if his mother asked kids not to pick on her child, Balder was teased and had things thrown at him. It was thought that, because of his mother's power, he was immune to harm.
