The time for traditions--Tricia McGill

 

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Well, most of the celebrations are probably over with by today so all that is left is the tidying up. I sincerely hope everyone had the best time possible. In these strange times, it is difficult to know what is normal any more. No matter where you are in the world all we could hope for right now is that you were able to connect with your loved ones.

Most restrictions have been dropped in my part of the world—at least for the foreseeable future. However, who knows what is around the next corner. Personally, I am not one for making New Year resolutions as many people do. I tend to face life one day at a time nowadays, which seems to be the best solution in a world that is changing day by day.

The thing I like best about this time of the year is traditions that have stood the test of time. I am not sure if mistletoe is necessary amid the decorations any more—such as a tree with either a star or a fairy on its top, Santa visiting on Christmas Eve to bring goodies to those children who have been good, but it was a well-worn tradition in my household when I was young.

Depending on where you start to look for information on the tradition of kissing beneath this parasitic plant that grows on trees and is poisonous, it seems to have been started by the Druids. Long considered to be a symbol of vitality with uncertain special curing properties, the earliest mention of its romantic powers was from Pliny the Elder, a Roman natural historian. He scoffed at the Druids notion that mistletoe when taken in a drink would aid in fertility.

Later the romantic association was expanded upon by the Norse in the story about Baldur’s mother Frigga, goddess of love. Legend had it that she ordered the plants and animals to promise not to harm her son—all plants except mistletoe. So, good old Loki, god of mischief, then killed Baldur with a mistletoe spear. Frigga’s tears turned into mistletoe berries that brought Baldur back to life, thus making Frigga declare mistletoe as a symbol of love.

Phew and here was I thinking it was a British Christmas tradition whereby if lovers kissed beneath the hanging sprig it ensured everlasting love. But it seems they didn’t start hanging mistletoe until the 18^th/19^th century. Mistletoe was also mentioned in Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers where he had young women screaming and struggling until they finally found it useless to resist the lure of being kissed beneath the mistletoe. Woe and betide any girl who resisted being kissed beneath it, for they would meet nothing but bad luck.

Mistletoe is still believed to contain healing properties by some, but there is little evidence to prove its worth as a herbal remedy. Sadly, the American Cancer institute has proven that there is nothing to suggest it contains an extract that will help the body’s immune system to fight cancer.

So there you have it—if you paused to kiss a lover or even a friend beneath the sprig of mistletoe this holiday season, you are almost certainly about to have the best of luck this coming year—or perhaps not. In any case, I wish you all that you wish yourselves in 2022.

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