Kathmandu:

Botanically speaking, mistletoe is very interesting because it is a partial parasite and grows as a parasitic plant on the branches or trunk of a wide range of trees and sends out highly modified roots that penetrate into the tree and take up water and nutrients. There are over 1,300 species of mistletoe worldwide, but only two types of mistletoe hold importance in the Christmas festivities.

The mistletoe commonly used as a Christmas decoration (Phoradendron flavescens) is a native of North America and grows as a parasite on trees from New Jersey to Florida. The other type of mistletoe, Viscum album, is of European origin. The European mistletoe is a green shrub with small, yellowish flowers and white, sticky berries, which are considered poisonous. The latter can be commonly seen on a wide range of plants but only rarely on oak trees.

From the earliest times Christmas mistletoe has been one of the most magical, mysterious, and sacred plants of European folklore. It has been considered to bestow life and fertility; a protection against poison; and an aphrodisiac. The rare oak mistletoe was greatly venerated by the ancient Celtic Druids and Germans, and used as a ceremonial plant by early Europeans.

The Greeks and earlier people thought it had mystical powers, and through the centuries it became associated with many folklore customs.

Say the word mistletoe in a crowded room, and one of the two images is bound to appear in the listeners’ mind — furtive kisses under Yulitide decorations or solemn whiter-robed, bearded druids bearing golden sickles, cleaving the plant from ancient oak.

These images have become so ingrained in popular culture that few venture a thought as to their origin and validity.

Kissing under the mistletoe has long been a part of Christmas tradition in European countries that still occurs during Christmas, Yule and in the case of France, New Year. We do not know exactly when this tradition started. There are two possible sources. One is the Greco-Roman midwinter feast of ‘Saturnalia’, which bears strong resemblance to present day Christmas custom of family gathering, feasting, gift exchange and using ever greens to decorate home. The fertility aspect of the festival would certainly explain the association of kissing beneath its bough and the belief that was ‘without doubt the surest way to prove prolific’.

The other possible source, is the story of the death of the Germanic god ‘Balder’, who was later Christianised as St Balder.

When Christianity became widespread in Europe after the 3rd century AD, the religious or mystical respect of the mistletoe plant was integrated into the new religion. In some way that is not understood, this may have led to the widespread custom of kissing under the mistletoe plant during the Christmas season, possibly relating to the belief in the effects on fertility and conception. The custom in its present form can be traced in popular culture to at least 18th century England.

The County Magazine in 1972 reported that “A custom of kissing the woman under the mistletoe bush still prevails in many places and is without doubt the surest way to prove prolific”.

During Christmas, a young lady standing under a ball of mistletoe, brightly trimmed with evergreens, ribbons, and ornaments, cannot refuse to be kissed. It was also the tradition that the lady so kissed would marry within the next year. If the lady standing under the mistletoe remained unkissed, then she would have little hopes of marrying the following year.

In some places such a kiss would mean deep romance or lasting friendship and goodwill, depending on the identity and relation of the kisser. If two exchanging a kiss were already well acquainted, then it is interpreted as a promise to marry as well a prediction of happiness and long life.

For those wishing to observe proper mistletoe etiquette, it is said that the kisser should pluck a berry when s/he kisses the person standing under the mistletoe. And when the last berry is gone, there should be no more kisses.

In some parts of England, the Christmas mistletoe is burned on the twelfth night lest all the boys and girls who have kissed under it never marry. Whether people believe in it or not, it always makes for fun during Christmas celebrations.

Even if the pagan significance has long been forgotten, the custom of exchanging a kiss under the mistletoe, once largely confined to Britain, can still be found in many English-speaking countries as well as in Canada. Modern research on mistletoe demonstrates that there is a lot more to mistletoe than just Christmas kissing. The traditions may be contrived, but they’re fun, and mostly harmless.

(Devkota is a lecturer in Botany at Amrit Campus)