This is the real thing. Dried mistletoe will last
forever. Comes in a two pack with ribbon.
Also known as the golden bough. Held sacred by both the Celtic
Druids and the Norseman.
Once called Allheal, used in folk medicine to cure many ills. North American
Indians used it for toothache, measles and dog bites. Today the plant is
still used medicinally, though only in skilled hands...it's a powerful
plant.
It was also the plant of peace in Scandinavian antiquity. If enemies met by
chance beneath it in a forest, they laid down their arms and maintained a
truce until the next day.
Mistletoe was used by the Druid priesthood in a very special ceremony held
around this time...five days after the New Moon following winter solstice,
to be precise. The Druid priests would cut mistletoe from a holy oak tree
with a golden sickle. The branches had to be caught before they touched the
ground.
Celts believed this parasitic plant held the soul of the host tree.
The priest then divided the branches into many sprigs and distributed them
to the people, who hung them over doorways as protection against thunder,
lightning and other evils. The folklore, and the magical powers of this
plant, blossomed over the centuries A sprig placed in a baby's cradle would
protect the child from faeries. Giving a sprig to the first cow calving
after New Year would protect the entire herd. And so forth.
Now for the kissing part. Although many sources say that kissing under the
mistletoe is a purely English custom, there's another, more charming
explanation for its origin that extends back into Norse mythology. It's the
story of a loving, if overprotective, mother.
The Norse god Balder was the best loved of all the gods. His mother was
Frigga, goddess of love and beauty. She loved her son so much that she
wanted to make sure no harm would come to him. So she went through the
world, securing promises from everything that sprang from the four
elements--fire, water, air, and earth--that they would not harm her beloved
Balder.
Leave it to Loki, a sly, evil spirit, to find the loophole. The loophole was
mistletoe. He made an arrow from its wood. To make the prank even nastier,
he took the arrow to Hoder, Balder's brother, who was blind. Guiding
Holder's hand, Loki directed the arrow at Balder's heart, and he fell dead.
Frigga's tears became the mistletoe's white berries. In the version of the
story with a happy ending, Balder is restored to life, and Frigga is so
grateful that she reverses the reputation of the offending plant--making it
a symbol of love and promising to bestow a kiss upon anyone who passes under
it.
