Pagan Yule: Christmas Plants
Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe: Traditional Yuletide Symbols
The Pagan influence on Christmas plants is reflected in songs. The carols of this Christian holy day, the holly and the ivy, mistletoe, mentioned in secular lyrics.
Yule is the day of the winter solstice, the one of the longest night. This solar festival falls close to Christmas.
As the Christians converted the Pagans, they adopted many of the country dwellers’ traditions to facilitate the acceptance of Christianity. The Celtic and Germanic/Nordic traditions are the biggest influence of Pagan plants on Christmas traditions.
The Holly
Holly berries, cloaked in sharp green leaves, are brightest in winter. The Druids revered this plant as sacred. It has been associated with winter magic and believed to repel evil. The Celts of the British Isles and Gaul believed the Holly King ruled over winter and death.
In Scandinavian mythology, the holly belonged to Thor & Freya. The plant’s association with Thor's lightning meant that it could protect people from being struck by his bolts.
Norsemen and Celts would plant a holly tree near their homes to ward off lightning strikes. The crooked lines of the holly leaves most likely gave rise to its association with lightning, as well as the fact that holly conducts lightning into the ground better than most trees.
Ivy
Ivy is an evergreen vine symbolizing immortality. It had been a symbol of eternal life in many pagan religions, including Druidism. The Christians who converted these Pagans embraced it as a symbol for the new promise of eternal life and Jesus’ everlasting one.
Mistletoe
Mistletoe is another plant that is sacred to the Celts and the Germanic/Norse. They believed the plant enhanced fertility because it stayed green in the winters.
The Druids believed the mistletoe's magickal properties extended beyond fertility. It was believed to cure almost any disease and was known as the all healer. Sprigs fixed above doorways of homes were said to keep away lightning and other types of evil. Because the plant has no roots it was believed that it grew from heaven. Druid priests, five days after the New Moon of Yule, would cut mistletoe from the sacred oak with a sickle made of gold. The branches were divided into sprigs and given to people to hang over their doorways for protection. Mistletoe was placed in baby cradles to protect them from faeries.
The custom of kissing under the mistletoe came from Norse legend. Frigga, goddess of love and beauty, had a son, Balder, beloved by all. She wanted nothing to harm him and went through the earth getting all that sprung from the four elements, fire, water, air and earth, so that he would be safe. The goddess overlooked the mistletoe.
Loki, god of evil, wanted to hurt Balder, so, knowing Frigga neglected to ask the mistletoe not to harm Balder, he made an arrow from its wood, then took it to Hoder, Balder’s blind brother, guided his hand and shot the arrow into Balder’s heart. The boy died.
All living creatures tried to bring Balder back to life for three days to no avail. Finally Frigga managed to revive her son with the help of the mistletoe. Her tears on the plant became white berries and she blessed the plant. Anyone who stands under the mistletoe plant would never be hurt and was entitled to a kiss, a token of love.
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Sources:
The Handbook of Celtic Astrology, Helena Patterson, (Llewellyn Publications, 1995)
When Santa Was a Shaman, Tony van Renterghem, (Llewellyn Publications, 1995)
