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One symbol of Christmas, with rather obscure
origins, is the mistletoe. Scholars debate where the Yuletide
custom of kissing under a sprig of mistletoe started. Some
hypothesize it has something to do with the fact that mistletoe
was considered an ancient symbol of fertility since it was
an evergreen that thrived in winter, but how did the mistletoe
become an integral part of the modern Christmas tradition?
The Old Norse name for mistletoe is “mistel-teinn”.
The suffix “-teinn” can be tied to the Germanic
and Celtic terms that indicate “sacred tree”.
“Mistel-vel” in ancient runic inscription has
been translated to mean “the power over life and death
through magic”.
European pagans had a custom of harvesting
mistletoe on the night before summer solstice. The historian
Pliny writes about how on Midsummer Eve a Druid priest clad
in a white robe would climb an oak with a golden sickle and
cut the mistletoe, which would be caught in a white cloth.
It was believed if any herb cut for magical purposes touched
the ground it would lose its powers to the earth. The Druids
thought a potion concocted from the plant would promote fertility
in their livestock. They also believed it could be used to
protect acting as a ward against evil spirits, or as a powerful
antidote to poisons.
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