Hypnogoria: THE OLDTIME YULETIDE ADVENT CALENDAR

Welcome dear friends back to the Hypnogoria Old-time Yuletide Advent Calendar! It’s Door 13 - unlucky for some? Well, We hope not, for M is for Mistletoe.

Now we know the ancients thought much of mistletoe. As Pliny records it was a sacred plant to the Druids, and legend says they harvested it with a golden sickle. They took care to catch the fallen sprigs as it was thought if it touched the ground it would lose its magic. However it was also revered by the Celts, Greeks and Romans, who saw the shape of its sprigs and white berries as a symbol of male fertility. It was also considered a special plant as it grows between the earth and sky, for mistletoe lives on the bark of other trees.

It was also important in Norse mythology, taking a key role in an important legend. Baldr was the most beloved and beautiful of all the gods, but he began to have dreams foretelling his death. Therefore his mother Frigg went around the entire world asking everything, from animals, plants, all elements, illnesses and poisons, even the very stones of the earth, to swear never to harm him. And hence Baldr became invulnerable, as nothing could harm him. And the other gods played a merry game in which they threw all manner of weapons and objects at Baldr which would bounce harmlessly off him.

However Frigg had overlooked the mistletoe, which she had thought was too young a creation to swear. But the jealous Loki discovered this, and so, he fashioned a dart made of mistletoe and gave it to Baldr’s brother, the blind god Hodr, to throw at him. With Loki guiding the blind god’s throw, the dart struck true, and Baldr was instantly slain. And dead he would stay, doomed to the realm of death. Frigg petitioned the goddess of the dead Hel to release him, and the dark mistress of the underworld agreed to return Baldr only if every living thing would weep for him. Frigg then went around the world again, and all things agreed to weep for Baldr. All, however except Loki, and so the shining god was to forever remain in the lands of the dead.

As for the mistletoe, legend says the plant vowed to neither grow on the ground again, nor to ever grow straight, and hence it could be used for no further evil. Loki on the other hand was severely punished, with Odin ordering that Loki bound deep beneath the earth with a deadly serpent dripping stinging venom into his face for all eternity. And there he remains, until Ragnarok comes.

In some later versions of the story, as well as Baldr being returned to life, mistletoe vows to be a plant of peace and good which is why people kiss under it. However after consulting the original sagas, it seems that this coda is a far more recent addition. In fact, probably only being added in the twentieth century.

To begin with, it seems that mistletoe as part of Christmas decorations is a relatively recent tradition. To begin with, thanks to its association with Druids it was long banned from using mistletoe in church Christmas decorations, with an exception being granted for York Minster. For this ancient place of worship used to hold a Christmas mistletoe service where York's evil doers were invited to seek forgiveness. Holding up a branch of mistletoe, the priest would proclaim, "public and universal liberty, pardon and freedom of all sorts of inferior and wicked people at the minster gates, and the gates of the city, towards the four quarters of heaven."

Today, the Mistletoe Service is no longer offered in quite that way. But mistletoe still decorates the high altar during the Christmas season as a symbol of the spirit of forgiveness and ancient customs. However it is traditional to ensure none of the mistletoe ever touches the ground when being taken or removed from the altar.

Now generally it seems that mistletoe wasn’t a common part of Christmas decorations, with he first reference to it in connection with festive trimmings coming in the 17th century in Robert Herrick’s poem Ceremony Upon Candlemas Eve which details the taking down of Christmas greenery -

Down with the rosemary, and so

Down with the bays and mistletoe ;

Down with the holly, ivy, all,

Wherewith ye dress'd the Christmas Hall :

Furthermore the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe appears to be even more recent, with mentions of the tradition only appearing in the 18th century. Historians have no idea how or where the tradition got started, but it certainly became very popular very quickly.

And as the mistletoe has an ancient connection to fertility, it was assumed that kissing under it was also very ancient. However it is a relatively modern invention. But whatever the origins, it is of course a very merry tradition, although in these modern times we have forgotten some of the original rules. For in earlier centuries, it was said that for every kiss a berry must be plucked from the mistletoe bunch and when the berries were gone, no more kisses were to be had. And whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing I leave to you to decide!