December 2011

Part 1
3rd Mistletoe day

Mistletoe (Viscus album) A semi-parasitic evergreen plant. Its seeds are implanted into bark of host trees such as apple, popular and hawthorn by birds who wipe off the sticky liquid when eating. The mistletoe sends out a sucker into the sapwood of the tree to gain nourishment. The berries are white and only recognised by a thrush and black caps as food. The male flowers are yellow.
Innumerable legends and beliefs surround it;
It is a plant of the heavens and should never be allowed to touch the ground or it looses its powers.
The Great God Odin was protected by all dangers but was killed by an arrow tipped with mistletoe.
The druids called it the "Golden Bough". A symbol of fertility; perhaps the origin of the rite of kissing beneath it at Christmas.