Why do we use Mistletoe, Holly and Ivy at Christmas?

At Christmas time houses, churches and many shops are decorated with the white berries of mistletoe, the red holly and the prickly ivy. Many folk have wreathes combining one or more of these plants on their doors. A christmas carol refers to Holly and Ivy:

The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

Why do we do this? What are the origins?

As with most customs associated with Christmas it is pagan religions that pre-date Christianity that we must turn to.

Saturnalia

Both Mistletoe as well as Holly and Ivy are linked to the Roman festival of Saturnalia. Saturn was the Roman god of agriculture and fertility. His festival was celebrated  around the winter solstice – from about 17th to 25th December. The festival was about  bringing back the sun but also praying for fertility in the coming year. It was a time for parties, abandoning social norms and carousing. Slaves were freed from their duties. Because Mistletoe, holly and ivy were used in his ceremonies they also became linked to fertility and were often used in marriages.

The Druids

When the Romans came to Britain they discovered that the Druids revered this plant. The historian, Pliny the Elder referred to their habit of cutting away mistletoe from oak trees using golden sickles and catching it before it touched the ground. The Druids elevated mistletoe to sacred powers. They noted that mistletoe was an  evergreen and so it became a symbol of fertility. They believed it could cure certain illnesses, protect cattle and they also hung it over doorways to ward off evil.

Now the druids performed the ceremony of collecting the mistletoe around the mid winter solstice and so it was then that it would be put up in houses during this time of year and so again later would become part of Yuletide and eventually Christmastime.

The Legend of Baldur

The idea of kissing linked to mistletoe may partially come from anglo-saxon and Norse mythology. The god Balder was the best loved of all the gods. He had premonitions that he would die.  In an attempt to protect him, his mother was Frigga, 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.

The gods amused themselves by throwing weapons made from all mineral and plants at Balder and laughed when they simply bounced of him.

Supposedly the god Loki, who desired to kill Balder, disguised himself and went to see Frigga and asked her if truly nothing could harm her son. . She confided that she had never got a promise from the plant Mistletoe. Loki made an arrow from its wood and arranged that another god throw it at Balder. The arrow pierced Balder’s heart and he fell dead.

There is a sad and a happy ending to the tale. In the sad version the gods go to ‘Hel’ to retrieve Balder but fail. In the happy version Frigga works hard to heal her son and he is returned to life.

Frigga, over joyed weeps, and her tears became the mistletoe’s white berries. Frigga is so grateful that she made the plant a symbol of love and  insists all the gods kiss undneath it.

Peace and Reconciliation

Both the druids and the Norse also saw Mistletoe as a symbol of peace and warring parties would agree to meet under truce where it grew.

The Pragmatic Church

As Saturnalia was celebrated around the time of year when Christmas would one day be held then use of Ivy and Holly was carried over from one festival to the other. The Christian church needed to put its own spin on the symbolism of Holly and Ivy – hence such uses as the incorporation into a carol.  Thus the prickles were equated to the crown of thorns, the berries to the blood of Christ etc.

Just as with  Holly and Ivy the Church tried at one time to ban Mistletoe but eventually adopted the pragmatic approach of quietly permitting its use. Indeed in some churches it even is incorporated into a service. Yorkminster since ancient times would decorate the high altar with the plant during the winter and use it in a special ceremony of forgiveness.