Mistletoe
Mistletoe is one such Christmas flower whose origin dates back to the Pagan origin. Druid priests used this Christmas flower two hundred years before the birth of Christ in their winter celebrations. They revered the flower since it had no roots yet remained green during the cold months of winter. The ancient Celtics believed mistletoe to have magical healing powers and used it as an antidote for poison, infertility, and to ward of evil spirits.
This Christmas flower plant was also seen as a symbol of peace, and it is said that among Romans, enemies who met under mistletoe would lay down their weapons and embrace. Scandinavians associated the plant with Frigga, their goddess of love, and probably from this belief it may be derived that the custom of kissing under the mistletoe started since it is associated with the goddess of love. It is believed that those who kissed under the mistletoe during Christmas had the promise of happiness and good luck in the following year.
According to the custom they would gather this evergreen Christmas flower that is parasitic upon other trees and use it to decorate their homes as a part of Christmas decoration. Scandinavians also symbolizes mistletoe as a flower of peace and harmony. The early church banned the use of mistletoe in Christmas celebrations because of its pagan origins. Instead, church fathers suggested the use of holly as an appropriate substitute for Christmas greenery.
North American Indians used it for toothache, measles and dog bites. Today the plant is still used medicinally, though only in skilled hands...it's a powerful plant.
Although many sources say that kissing under the mistletoe is purely English custom, there's another more charming explanation for it's origin that extends back into Norse mythology. It's a story of a loving, if overprotective, mother.
The Norse god Balder was the best loved of all the gods. His mother was Frigga, goddess of love and beauty. She loved her son so much that she wanted to make sure no harm would come to him. So she went through the world, securing promises from everything that sprang from the four elements--fire, water, air, and earth--that they would not harm her beloved Balder.
Leave it to Loki, a sly, evil spirit, to find the loophole. The loophole was mistletoe. He made an arrow from its wood. To make the prank even nastier, he took the arrow to Hoder, Balder's brother, who was blind. Guiding Holder's hand, Loki directed the arrow at Balder's heart, and he fell dead.
Frigga's tears became the mistletoe's white berries. In the version of the story with a happy ending, Balder is restored to life, and Frigga is so grateful that she reverses the reputation of the offending plant--making it a symbol of love and promising to bestow a kiss upon anyone who passes under it.
Mistletoe is one such Christmas flower whose origin dates back to the Pagan origin. Druid priests used this Christmas flower two hundred years before the birth of Christ in their winter celebrations. They revered the flower since it had no roots yet remained green during the cold months of winter. The ancient Celtics believed mistletoe to have magical healing powers and used it as an antidote for poison, infertility, and to ward of evil spirits.
This Christmas flower plant was also seen as a symbol of peace, and it is said that among Romans, enemies who met under mistletoe would lay down their weapons and embrace. Scandinavians associated the plant with Frigga, their goddess of love, and probably from this belief it may be derived that the custom of kissing under the mistletoe started since it is associated with the goddess of love. It is believed that those who kissed under the mistletoe during Christmas had the promise of happiness and good luck in the following year.
According to the custom they would gather this evergreen Christmas flower that is parasitic upon other trees and use it to decorate their homes as a part of Christmas decoration. Scandinavians also symbolizes mistletoe as a flower of peace and harmony. The early church banned the use of mistletoe in Christmas celebrations because of its pagan origins. Instead, church fathers suggested the use of holly as an appropriate substitute for Christmas greenery.
North American Indians used it for toothache, measles and dog bites. Today the plant is still used medicinally, though only in skilled hands...it's a powerful plant.
Although many sources say that kissing under the mistletoe is purely English custom, there's another more charming explanation for it's origin that extends back into Norse mythology. It's a story of a loving, if overprotective, mother.
The Norse god Balder was the best loved of all the gods. His mother was Frigga, goddess of love and beauty. She loved her son so much that she wanted to make sure no harm would come to him. So she went through the world, securing promises from everything that sprang from the four elements--fire, water, air, and earth--that they would not harm her beloved Balder.
Leave it to Loki, a sly, evil spirit, to find the loophole. The loophole was mistletoe. He made an arrow from its wood. To make the prank even nastier, he took the arrow to Hoder, Balder's brother, who was blind. Guiding Holder's hand, Loki directed the arrow at Balder's heart, and he fell dead.
Frigga's tears became the mistletoe's white berries. In the version of the story with a happy ending, Balder is restored to life, and Frigga is so grateful that she reverses the reputation of the offending plant--making it a symbol of love and promising to bestow a kiss upon anyone who passes under it.