mistletoe, who started this tradition?

Question

Does any one know who started the tradition about mistletoe, and how did they come up with the name. I mean isn't mistletoe a weed? and when they started this tradition it must not have caught on very well, so maybe that's why they started to hang it up on door post , just to see if they could catch some one under it, or maybe the person was just real ugly and needed some surprise affection. and they must have been poor, because it's a real cheap weed, couldn't they have picked a flower instead? never the less I would like to know how this tradition got started. thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Mistletoe isn't a weed, it is a parasite. To the druids, it was a sacred plant as it grew on the most holy of the trees, the Oak. It was called the Child of the Oak, the druids (it is said) actually used parts of it to cure various illnesses, including what we now know as leukemia...
In Norse tradition, the mistletoe was originally used to harm the perfect god, and, as punishment, was given the job of promoting peace and harmony, hence it was placed above the entrance of houses during the days of celebration of the soltice in those countries to assure guests that no harm would come to them. Agreements between enemies made under the mistletoe and sealed with ritual "kisses" were considered binding and both sides severly punished if agreements, truces, etc. were broken. The white berries on a plant in the middle of winter that stayed green was adopted by the christians to mean Christ's purity and hope of eternal life; just as the christmas tree was adopted by the people coming into Germany to convert the pagan... Hope this helps.

Answer 2

The Norse and Druids associated mistletoe with peace.
The custom of kissing under mistletoe comes from the Roman feast of Saturnalia, a fertility related celebration around the Winter Solstice.
It was the celebration of the highly sexualized Saturnalia that the Christians sought to supplant by celebrating Christ's birth at that time of year.

Answer 3

Mistletoe is the common name for various parasitic plants in the order Santalales, belonging to the families Santalaceae, Loranthaceae and Misodendraceae. The species in Santalaceae were formerly commonly treated in a separate family Viscaceae. Mistletoe figured prominently in Norse mythology which comprises the pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people, including those who settled on Iceland, where the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled.

Answer 4

To the pagans (druids) the mistletoe was hung in honor of the Oak King who battled the Holly King at Yule time. The Holly King would win, this is who many think Santa evolved from because the Holly King wore red, with sprigs of holly in his head wear and had a team of eight dear (then considered a sacred animal).