I'd like to think that I'm probably related to the Druids somehow. I'm not the biggest fan of pagan ritual, but I very much enjoy ambling though the woods. One December, during one such excursion in the woods of North Carolina, I saw that there was still some greenery in the branches above me. This seemed strange to me, as the leaves had long since fallen from the trees. I looked more carefully up at the canopy of branches above me, and saw that the greenery was not from the tree itself, but from a plant that was growing out of the tree. Mistletoe.
Mistletoe is a parasite that grows on deciduous trees in North America and Europe and is one of the more iconic symbols of Christmas. However, the history of mistletoe as a symbol seems to stretch much farther back than Christmas does. According to the ancient author Pliny, the Druids used to use mistletoe in all kinds of rituals, thinking that it would make the land more fertile. Eventually, when Christianity was introduced into western Europe, mistletoe was absorbed into the rituals surrounding Christmas with the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe.
Because of its obvious pagan origins, it may be easy to dismiss mistletoe as just another Christmas tradition, but maybe there's another way to look at it. In the Prose Edda, a work from the Middle Ages which details elements of Norse Mythology, the Norse god Baldr is everybody's favorite god. Everybody on earth seems to love Baldr because he is so nice to everyone. But one day, Balder has some bad dreams and is afraid they might be a sign of his impending death. To keep himself safe, he and his friends make all the plants, animals and elements in the world swear an oath that they would never hurt Balder. However, since mistletoe is so small and seemingly harmless, they pass it up and do not make it swear the oath.
Balder and his friends soon realize that the oath they made everything swear could be the makings of a new game. Since everything promised not to hurt Balder, they can throw stuff at him as hard as they want and the projectiles,wanting to keep their oaths, will avoid Balder. (This game seems very Viking to me somehow.) Loki, upset by Baldr's invincibility, decides to finish off Baldr once and for all. He discovers through treachery that mistletoe is the only thing that can hurt Baldr and devises a plan to shoot Baldr with a mistletoe arrow. He makes the arrow and convinces Hodr, Baldr's blind friend, to join in the game and shoot at Baldr. He does so but, being blind, does not realize that Loki has given him the mistletoe arrow. Baldr dies instantly.
Because everyone loves Baldr so much, they try to make a deal with Hel, the aptly-named goddess of the underworld, to free Baldr. She says she will only let Balder come back after Ragnarok, when many of the other gods are dead. The return of Baldr will usher in an age of peace and prosperity for the world.
At Christmastime, Christians celebrate the birth of a dying and reviving God who descended into the underworld; a god who, after a time of terrible calamity, will one day return to usher in an age of peace and prosperity for the world. Although our God was not killed by mistletoe, perhaps when we see it hanging up this time of year, we can think of the Baldr story and remember our own God, the God Christmas was meant to celebrate.
Because of its obvious pagan origins, it may be easy to dismiss mistletoe as just another Christmas tradition, but maybe there's another way to look at it. In the Prose Edda, a work from the Middle Ages which details elements of Norse Mythology, the Norse god Baldr is everybody's favorite god. Everybody on earth seems to love Baldr because he is so nice to everyone. But one day, Balder has some bad dreams and is afraid they might be a sign of his impending death. To keep himself safe, he and his friends make all the plants, animals and elements in the world swear an oath that they would never hurt Balder. However, since mistletoe is so small and seemingly harmless, they pass it up and do not make it swear the oath.
Balder and his friends soon realize that the oath they made everything swear could be the makings of a new game. Since everything promised not to hurt Balder, they can throw stuff at him as hard as they want and the projectiles,wanting to keep their oaths, will avoid Balder. (This game seems very Viking to me somehow.) Loki, upset by Baldr's invincibility, decides to finish off Baldr once and for all. He discovers through treachery that mistletoe is the only thing that can hurt Baldr and devises a plan to shoot Baldr with a mistletoe arrow. He makes the arrow and convinces Hodr, Baldr's blind friend, to join in the game and shoot at Baldr. He does so but, being blind, does not realize that Loki has given him the mistletoe arrow. Baldr dies instantly.
Because everyone loves Baldr so much, they try to make a deal with Hel, the aptly-named goddess of the underworld, to free Baldr. She says she will only let Balder come back after Ragnarok, when many of the other gods are dead. The return of Baldr will usher in an age of peace and prosperity for the world.
At Christmastime, Christians celebrate the birth of a dying and reviving God who descended into the underworld; a god who, after a time of terrible calamity, will one day return to usher in an age of peace and prosperity for the world. Although our God was not killed by mistletoe, perhaps when we see it hanging up this time of year, we can think of the Baldr story and remember our own God, the God Christmas was meant to celebrate.
