Viscum album, also known as the mistletoe, is an enigmatic parasitic plant, famed for being both a life saver and a killer. [1] This antithesis, linked with romanticism, between its effects, is one of the reasons the mistletoe puzzles botanists, historians and anti-quarians. From, Celtic languages, the “cure-all”, mistletoe raised in popularity due to its individuality [2] and applications and since has been interwoven into legends, myths, and religious beliefs. [3]
The Mistletoe Folklore: Mythology & Tradition The mistletoe is featured in mythologies of Indo-Germanic groups such as the Romans, the Celts and the Germanics. [3] The plant’s romantic overtones started with the Celts; they viewed the mistletoe as a sacred symbol of vivacity, a heavenly plant, worshiped by their priests. It was administered to humans and animals in the hope of restoring fertility. [3, 4] For the Romans, Pliny the Elder, a Roman philosopher, recorded the widely held belief that whatever grew on the sacred oak was sent from heaven and, since mistletoe was only occasionally found on the oak, it was indeed cause for celebration when it was encountered. [2] To the Germanic nations, it was the killer of their sungod. [3] In Norse mythology, Baldur, the god Odin’s son, was prophesied to die; his mother, Frigg, the goddess of love, went to the natural world to secure an oath but she neglected to consult the mistletoe. Therefore, Loki, a trickster god, killed the invincible Baldur. According to one sunnier version of the myth, the gods were able to resurrect Baldur from the dead. Delighted, Frigg then declared mistletoe a symbol of love and vowed to plant a kiss on all those who passed beneath it. [4] The Mistletoe’s Evolution: A Christmas Tradition By the 18th century, the mistletoe tradition had become widely incorporated into Christmas celebrations. The kissing tradition first caught on among servants in England as part of the early custom, where men were allowed to steal a kiss from any woman caught standing under the mistletoe, and refusing was viewed as bad luck. [4] Washington Irving, an American biographer, also described the tradition in his History, tales, and sketches book: "...at Christmas, the young men had the privilege of kissing ladies under mistletoe, plucking each time a berry from the bush." [5] However, it is still unknown how the mistletoe shifted in culture from a sacred herb to holiday decoration. The Mistletoes’ Applications: Beyond a Tradition The Greeks were adepts of the mistletoe cure for everything from menstrual cramps to spleen disorders; the Roman naturalist, Pliny the Elder, even noted its use against epilepsy, ulcers and poisons. [2] The first recorded evidence of mistletoe's use in heart diseases’ treatment was found in a 1881 communique published by Dr. R. Park of Glasgow, who described finding a large bottle labeled "Tincture of Mistletoe" among the drugs of a late Dr. Wigglesworth, whose practice he had taken over in June of 1870. [6] Julie Foster, states in her anthroposophy paper that if “‘like cures like,’ healing takes advantage of this growth pattern and one’s body is inspired to heal from the inside out. Otherwise known as a poison, Mistletoe as a homeopathic becomes an ally.” The way mistletoe grows provides insight into why it works well in cancer treatments. It remains green all year long; it stores up chlorophyll in the darkness of the wood in which it has buried itself. The mistletoes’ berries ripen in winter (out of sync) without warmth, just as cancer works out of sync, imposing on our bodies’ normal physiological processes. [7] An extract (KM-110) of Korean mistletoe and its lectin fraction (KML-C) were also promisingly tested for their ability to enhance immunogenicity of SARS CoV-N protein. [8] Conclusion: The Deserved Fame of the Mistletoe By being a day to day ailment for cramps, headaches and concentration problems, as well as a possible cure to serious diseases including Covid-19 and Cancer, the mistletoe proves to be more than just an excuse for a kiss. The mistletoe and its relatives are among the most enigmatic groups of flowering plants and they have all sorts of interesting characteristics for botanists to research. [1] And despites some claims that in our era of televised and widely accepted sexual freedom such a custom seems too sweetly naive to hold in the future[2], the mistletoe has so many more useful applications for people than being just an excuse-accessory to romanticism during Christmas time; therefore, the mistletoe seems highly unlikely to disappear from our culture any time soon. References: [1] Fay, M.F.; Is mistletoe more than just an excuse for a kiss?; Royal Botanic Gardens Kew; 18 December 2017; Available at: https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/mistletoe-more-than-a-kiss [2] Frazer, J. G. 1922. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, a New Abridgement from the Second and Third Editions. Macmillan, New York, NY. [Reprint, Oxford University Press, London, 1994. [3] Kanner L. Mistletoe, magic, and medicine. Bull Hist Med 1939; Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44440480?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents [4] Andrews, E; Why Do We Kiss Under the Mistletoe?; History; Updated:Dec 22, 2020 , Original:Dec 24, 2013; Available at: https://www.history.com/news/why-do-we-kiss-under-the-mistletoe#:~:text=Another%20famous%20chapter%20in%20mistletoe%20folklore%20comes%20from%20Norse%20mythology.&text=Delighted%2C%20Frigg%20then%20declared%20mistletoe,those%20who%20passed%20beneath%20it. [5] Irving W. Christmas Eve. In: History, tales, and sketches. New York: Library of America, 1983:927; Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/History_Tales_and_Sketches/TAiuKgqAJ8wC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Irving+W.+Christmas+Eve.+In:+History,+tales,+and+sketches.+New+York:+Library+of+America&pg=PA5&printsec=frontcover [6] Bowman, I. A. PhD; The Everlasting Mistletoe and the Cardiovascular System; Mistletoe and the Cardiovascular System;Volume 17, Number 4, 1990; Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC324941/pdf/thij00055-0072.pdf [7] Foster, J.; The Use Of Mistletoe for Healing; Portland Anthroposophy; 2010; Available at: https://www.portlandanthroposophy.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Julie-Foster-Mistletoe.pdf [8] Kim, S-S.; Chung, Y-S.; Kang, C.; Kim J-B.; Yoo, Y-C.; Effect of korean mistletoe lectin on immunogenicity of SARS coronavirus recombinant protein; Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Konyang University, Daejeon, Division of Influenza and Respiratory viruses, Center for Infectious Diseases, NIH, Korea center for Disease Control and Prevention, Seoul, Institute of Biomedicine, Handong University, Pohang, Korea; Available at: http://210.101.116.28/W_files/ksi3/02615730_pv.pdf
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