All about Mistletoe

European mistletoe attached to a silver birch 

Before I begin, I must give credit for this blog to a friend of mine. She gave me an interesting tidbit of mistletoe information, and I was hooked. She suggested this article, and it is dedicated to her. Thanks, Leslie.

Everyone knows that mistletoe is hung at Christmas time. It is easy to recognize its shiny leaves and small white berries. Can you recognise mistletoe in nature? Mistletoe is that clump of green leaves left in a tree in wintertime. Although it is not attached to any soil, the mistletoe stays green year around. It is actually a hemi-parasitic plant that feeds off the water and mineral nutrients of the various host trees. It is considered semi parasitic because it is capable of photosynthesis.

The name mistletoe is believed to have it’s roots in the terms mistel tan. These are Anglo Saxon for dung (mistel) and twig (tan), literally “dung on a twig”. This, actually, makes perfect sense, because mistletoe is spread from tree to tree by bird droppings. Oh, it is also quite poisonous. So how did something that grows out of bird poop become the symbol of kissing and young love at Christmas time?

The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is believed to have its roots in a Norse myth. The Norse goddess, Frigga, had a son named Baldur. When Baldur was born, she had all living and nonliving things swear an oath not to harm Baldur. Frigga overlooked the small mistletoe plant. Years later, one of the other Norse gods, Loki, used the mistletoe plant to kill Baldur. When Baldur died, all vegetation died with him bringing winter into the world. Frigga, declared the mistletoe would no longer be used for death, but for love. She ordered that anyone meeting under the mistletoe would celebrate love and rebirth by kissing.

In Scandinavia, it was custom for two enemies to call a truce until the next day if they met under the mistletoe. At this point, kissing under the mistletoe is lost in the mist of time.  That is until 1820, when Washington Irving described it in “The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon”, as part of the 12 days of Christmas festivities.

So that is my story of the mistletoe. If you have a different one, please share in the comments section. Thanks for reading.

Yes, Virgina. There WAS a Santa Clause.

I was walking into my local gas station yesterday morning. To my right was a white van with an older gentleman standing there getting his keys out. He was a little taller than me with a full white beard and a head of white hair. He was dressed in jeans, a sweater and a jacket. Nothing to write home about.
To my left was a dad with a little girl around three. She had black hair and was very full of energy. As the door to the store opened, I heard the little girl squeal. I turned to see what the commotion was. The little girl was running up the elderly man, saying "hi, Santa, hi". I stifled a little grin, and watched a very flustered elderly man and dad attempt to make the best of a very strange situation. They both did admirably well. The elderly man was a sweetheart and the dad smiled a great big thank you. After "Santa" left, the little girl was still jumping up and down, so excited about seeing Santa at the gas station.
This scene stayed with me through out the weekend. As I was contemplating it, I thought about the Walmat incident from earlier in the week, where Walmart had taken down the decorated Christmas Trees. A rumor circulated it was because someone had complained.  According to Walmart, no one had complained. It was a way of helping local communities by donating the trees to local schools. That may be true, this time. But what happens if someone does complain? Would they take them down then?
We are told in business and retail establishments, we must say Happy Holidays to keep from offending someone. Now, I am not interested in offending people but I have the right to say Merry Christmas. I am not offended by people celebrating Hanukkah or any of the other holidays in December, why should me celebrating Christmas offend them? We are so close to losing the Christ part of Christmas because it offends people. What happens if we lose all of Christmas because someone was offended?
Yes, Virginia, there was a Santa Clause. We use to tell stories about him bringing presents to all the good little girls and boys. Oh, yes and on that same day, we celebrated our Savior's birth, whose gift was eternal life to all who believed, good or bad.