Virtual Vienna Net - Through Billie Ann's Eyes - The Evergreen We Know As Mistletoe

Mistletoe has long played a role in secular Christmas festivities; however, it is rarely found amongst the greenery used to decorate church interiors.

Early Christian folklore in some parts of Europe included the belief that the cross on which Christ was crucified was made of mistletoe wood which consequently "shriveled up in shame".

The ban against the use of mistletoe as a decoration inside churches by early Christian leaders was probably due to its importance as a symbol of life in pagan ceremonial rites.

For example the Druids who were the religious authorities governing the Celts, used mistletoe in their sacred rites. Elaborate ceremonies are thought to have been performed each year before the search for this sacred plant began, as well as for the actual cutting of the mistletoe. It was considered a bad omen indeed if the Druids failed to find mistletoe or if they cut it improperly.

Druids sought out the mistletoe growing on oak trees, long considered the most sacred of trees in pagan cultures. Pliny (A.D. 23-79), the Roman scholar wrote that Druids cut the mistletoe with a golden scythe, never iron, and according to Sir James George Frazer, the British 19th century socio-anthropologist, the Druids cut the mistletoe on the sixth day after the full moon.

Druids believed that mistletoe had powerful medicinal properties. In their annual sacred rites, the,Druids brewed mistletoe to cure many diseases as well as sterility. It was also used as an antidote for poisons and as a protective talisman.

Mistletoe was also valued by the Norsemen for its healing properties as well. It became a custom that when peace was formally concluded, the warring parties had to seal their treaty by planting a kiss on each others cheeks while standing beneath a ball of mistletoe.

Other myths tie the custom of kissing under the mistletoe to human sacrifices, perhaps sacred prostitution. Some ancients believed mistletoe had aphrodisiac properties. The Dutch Scholar Erasmus was the first who wrote of the tradition of kissing under a bough of mistletoes bound up with red ribbon, ivy and yew.

The custom of hanging mistletoe in homes during Christmas festivities was primarily a Scandinavian and British one until the 20th Century. However, The Austrian New Year celebrations include a mistletoe tradition. Sylvester, an old and somewhat gnarled creature in most depictions, sometimes wears a wreath of mistletoe while chasing young maidens and girls and tries to kiss on New Years Eve.

Today the custom of kissing beneath the mistletoe is widespread. This once heathen custom has survived and become a secular part of Christmas customs today. According to tradition, the British insist that only one kiss per berry is allowed. Following the kiss a berry should be plucked. And in some parts of Britain, it is thought unlucky to take down the mistletoe before the following Christmas Eve.