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Feature Article December 4

Feature Article December 4, 2003

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Mistletoe

What does 'mistletoe' signify to you?

It has long been a custom to hang a piece at Christmas, and kiss under the mistletoe.This custom appears to stem from ancient beliefs about the plant.Ancient tradition thought it promoted fertility.

Norse tradition suggests that the goddess Frigga decreed it was a symbol of peace and friendship. Druids cut mistletoe in a special ceremony five days after the new moon following the winter solstice, and believed it protected from evil spirits and storms, and if hung over a baby's crib it would prevent theft of the baby by fairies. Custom called for enemies meeting under the mistletoe to throw down their weapons and embrace. Mistletoe is actually a semi-parasitic plant.Semi-parasitic because it has the capability of photosynthesis and can produce some of its own energy, but its root system (which never reaches the ground) penetrates a host plant or tree from which it obtains water and minerals.

Worldwide there are around 1500 or more different species of mistletoe, most quite different than our Christmas mistletoe.In Great Britain there is only one species, an evergreen, which grows on deciduous trees (often apple trees), and thus remains a green winter symbol. In North America the much smaller plants, the Dwarf Mistletoes, can cause serious damage in some forests. Mistletoes can be attractive plants with variously-coloured flowers. The fleshy, succulent berries, white or red depending on the species, are viscous and sugary and attractive to birds. Birds are one means of spreading the seeds, either by the birds scraping the sticky seeds from their bills onto the branches of a tree, or by voiding them in feces onto branches.The seeds germinate by light, and the green structures that emerge have rudimentary roots which elongate and penetrate into the bark of the trees. Dwarf mistletoes seem to have an explosive fruit which will send a small missile-shaped seed up to 60 feet to stick to a new host. In Australia the mistletoe has winged fruit that is dispersed by the wind - and probably also by the Misletoebird, a small, attractive bird that builds its nest in the mistletoe and eats the fruit.

Mistletoe seems to have got its name from the Anglo-Saxons in the second century, being derived from the word 'mistel' meaning 'dung, and 'tan' the word for 'twig', with 'misteltan' being the old English word for mistletoe. It is poisonous, and if you do have it in your home, make sure that children and pets cannot reach it or eat the berries. The French tradition holds that the reason for it being poisonous is because it was growing on a tree that was used for the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Because of this it was cursed and denied a place to live and grow on earth, and would remain only as a parasite.

Apparently the correct mistletoe kissing etiquette is for the man to remove one berry when he kisses a woman, and after all the berries are removed from that plant, there is no more kissing under it.The belief is that a single woman not kissed under the mistletoe would remain single for the following year.

Observations: Please share your sightings with Jean at 268-2518, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

With the participation of the Government of Canada