Mistletoe, like holly, is a Christmas decorating tradition that has been scrutinized and has been the center of controversy from time to time. Most people know mistletoe best for the holiday tradition of tying a sprig over a doorway, then waiting for an admirer to stand under it so you can steal a kiss, but it also has medicinal properties.

The origin of traditions involving mistletoe can be good or bad, depending on personal perception and personal convictions.

Arguments against the use of holly in Christmas decor stem from the plant’s significance in pagan tradition and its association with magical powers. Mistletoe has similar associations as it is frequently referenced in regard to Celtic and pagan rituals as well as in Norse mythology.

Mistletoe was used by the Druid priesthood in a ceremony held five days after the New Moon following winter solstice. Mistletoe bears fruit at the time of the Winter Solstice.

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 and two virgin bulls were sacrificed.

Celts believed this semi-parasitic plant held the soul of the host tree. Druids were the priests of the Celts from the land of Gaul.

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. This was associated with an earlier belief that the mistletoe itself could come to the tree during a flash of lightning.They believed that a potion prepared from mistletoe would make sterile animals fertile, and that the plant is an antidote for any poison.

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.

In some cultures mistletoe was symbolic of peace, love and goodwill.

 A Christian tradition says that mistletoe was once a tree, and furnished the wood of the Cross. After the Crucifixion, the plant shriveled and became dwarfed to a parasitic vine.

In Romanian traditions, mistletoe (vâsc) is considered a source of good fortune.

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.

In France, Mistletoe is hung above the door during the Christmas season, not for kissing opportunities, but to bring good fortune throughout the year.

Mistletoe was the State Flower of Oklahoma until 2004, when it was replaced by the Wild Rose. It still appears on the Oklahoma State Seal and is Oklahoma's oldest symbol.

Mistletoe is also said to be a sexual symbol, because of the consistency and color of the berry juice as well as the belief that it is an aphrodisiac, the “soul” of the tree from which it grows.

Some misconceptions about mistletoe

One of the beliefs in earlier centuries was that mistletoe grew from birds. People used to believe that, rather than just passing through birds in the form of seeds, the mistletoe plant was an inherent result of birds landing in the branches of trees.

The modern day tradition of kissing under the mistletoe stems from Norse mythology.

Vikings dating back to the eighth century believed that mistletoe had the power to raise humans from the dead, relating to the resurrection of Balder, the god of the summer sun.

Balder had a dream that he was going to die. His mother, Frigga, the goddess of love and beauty, was frantic about his dream and said that if he died, everything on Earth would die.A Norse goddess declared mistletoe as a sacred plant to symbolize love rather than death which, as the myth goes, it previously stood for.

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.

For three days, all the elements tried their hardest to bring Balder back to life, but failed. Finally, the tears that Frigga cried for her dead son changed the red mistletoe berries to white, raising Balder from the dead. Frigga was so grateful that she reversed the reputation of the offending plant--making it a symbol of love and promising to bestow a kiss upon anyone who passed under it.

Meanings of kissing under the mistletoe, or not

The correct mistletoe etiquette is for the man to remove one berry when he kisses a woman. When all the berries are gone, there's no more kissing permitted underneath that plant.

A couple who kisses underneath mistletoe is supposed have good luck, but the couple who passes up the chance to perform the ritual will have bad luck. It is believed that a couple kissing under the mistletoe ensure themselves of marriage and a long, happy life, while an unmarried woman not kissed under the mistletoe will remain single for another year.

Maidens may place a sprig of the plant under their pillow at night to dream of their Prince Charming. Burning a mistletoe plant is also thought to foretell a woman’s marital bliss, or lack of it. A mistletoe that burns steadily prophesies a healthy marriage, while flickering flames may doom a woman to an ill-suited partner.

Mistletoe plant taxonomy

All mistletoes are parasitic plants in the order Santalales. In the plant kingdom, parasitism evolved only nine times, and of those, the parasitic mistletoe habit has evolved independently five times. Two of those families have been combined with other families, although DNA sequences confirm independent origins. Today we recognize three plant families containing Mistletoe: Santalaceae (Viscaceae), Loranthaceae, and Misodendraceae.

 The largest family of Mistletoes is Loranthaceae with 73 genera and over 900 species. The mistletoe common in Europe is classified as Viscum album, while its American counterpart is Phoradendron flavescens.

The word Mistletoe is thought to be derived from the German words, "mistel" (dung) and "tan" (twig). The plant is thought to be named after bird droppings on a branch. The word originated from the perception in pre-scientific Europe that mistletoe plants burst forth -- as if by magic -- from the excrement of the "mistel" (or "missel") thrush.

Mistletoe is also known as mystyldene, all-heal, bird lime, golden bough, and devil's fuge.

By the sixteenth century, botanists had discovered that the mistletoe plant was spread by seeds which had passed through the digestive tract of birds.

Almost all mistletoes are technically hemiparasites, bearing evergreen leaves that carry out some photosynthesis on their own, and relying on the host mainly for water and the mineral nutrients it carries, which they harvest by sending roots into the host plant. However, there are a few species that are total parasites.

The mistletoe species grow on a wide range of host trees and shrubs, and can eventually prove fatal to them where infestation is heavy, though damage more commonly only results in growth reduction. Viscum album can be a parasitise to more than 200 tree and shrub species.

While historically often considered a pest that kills trees and devalues natural habitats, mistletoe has recently become recognized as an ecological keystone species, an organism that has a disproportionately pervasive influence over its community.

A broad array of animals depend on mistletoe for food, consuming the leaves and young shoots as well as transferring pollen between plants and dispersing the sticky seeds.

The dense evergreen witches' brooms formed by the dwarf mistletoes (Arceuthobium species) of western North America also make excellent locations for roosting and nesting of the Northern Spotted Owls and the Marbled Murrelets. In Australia the Diamond Firetails and Painted Honeyeaters are recorded as nesting in different mistletoes. This behavior is probably far more widespread than currently recognized; more than 240 species of birds that nest in foliage in Australia have been recorded nesting in mistletoe, representing more than 75% of the resident avifauna.

 A study of mistletoe in junipers concluded that more juniper berries sprout in stands where mistletoe is present, as the mistletoe attracts berry-eating birds, which also eat juniper berries; juniper berries that have passed through a bird's digestive tract are less likely to remain imprisoned within a hardened outer capsule.

Such interactions lead to dramatic influences on diversity, as areas with greater mistletoe densities support higher diversities of animals. Thus, rather than being a pest, mistletoe can have a positive effect on biodiversity, providing high quality food and habitat for a broad range of animals in forests and woodlands worldwide.

Mistletoe medicinal properties

Mistletoe is poisionous if eaten, containging viscotoxins. Ingesting mistletoe can cause severe stomach cramps and diarrhea, and in some cases can be fatal, depending on the amount ingested and the body weight of the person or animal consuming it. If you have mistletoe in your house this holiday season, be sure that it is in a place where children and pets won't be able to get to it.

Historically, mistletoe has been used as medicine for centuries, and was once known by the name Allheal because it was used for so many afflictions.

Mistletoe has been used in folk medicine as a digestive aid, heart tonic, and sedative. It was used to treat arthritis, hysteria and other mental disturbances, amenorrhea, wounds, asthma, bed wetting, infection, and to stimulate glands.

Since the 1920s, mistletoe has been explored for properties useful in treating some kinds of cancer. It's use is approved in Europe, where extracts from this plant are usually injected, but may also be drunk as tea. In alternative medicine, the leaves, twigs, and sometimes the berries of mistletoe are used. However, mistletoe is still not approved by the FDA in the US. In the US, the mistletoe extract can only be obtained for use in clinical trials.

An extract of the European mistletoe plant is said to stimulate the immune system and kill cancer cells. It reportedly reduces the size of tumors and improves the quality of life. It has shown some promise in reducing the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy in cancer patients. Iscador is one popular brandname of the mistletoe extract marketed in Europe.

Mistletoe has been used in Europe for treatment of cancers of the  cervix, ovary, breast, stomach, colon, and lung. Cancer treatments can take several months to several years. The treatment is given by subcutaneous injection, preferably near the tumor. Iscador may be injected into the tumor, especially tumors of the liver, cervix, or esophagus.

The dosage of Iscador varies according to the patient's age, sex, physical condition, and type of cancer. The treatment usually is given in the morning three to seven days per week. As treatment continues, the dosage may be increased or adjusted.*

Advocates of Iscador believe it can stimulate the immune system, kill cancer cells, inhibit the formation of tumors, and extend the survival time of cancer patients. They maintain that mistletoe can help prevent cancer and be complementary to standard medical cancer treatments. They also think that mistletoe could possibly repair the DNA that is decreased by chemotherapy and radiation.

Mistletoe tea may be an alternative treatment for conditions that include high blood pressure, asthma, epilepsy, nervousness, diarrhea, andamenorrhea and AIDS. The tea is prepared by adding 1 tsp (5 g) of finely cut mistletoe to 1 cup (250 ml) of cold water. The solution is steeped at room temperature for 12 hours and then strained.*

Mistletoe wine is prepared by mixing 8 tsp (40 g) of the herb into 34oz (1 L) of wine. After three days, the wine can be consumed. Three to fourglasses of medicinal wine may be consumed each day.*

Mistletoe must be stored away from light and kept above a drying agent.

Opinions are sharply divided on how safe and effective mistletoe is as an herbal remedy

Opinions are sharply divided on how safe and effective the herb is as a home remedy and in the treatment of conditions such as cancer and AIDS. There is controversy about which parts of the plants are poisonous. Although the berries are classified as poisonous in the United States, some sources say that eating berries is only dangerous for babies, and only if handfuls are consumed. Pregnant or breast-feeding women, however, should not use the plant.

According to a report from the Hepatitis Foundation International, mistletoe is toxic to the liver. However, the PDR for Herbal Medicines advises that there are no health hazards when mistletoe is taken properly and in designated therapeutic dosages.

People considering mistletoe should consult with their doctors or practitioners. Until there is definitive proof otherwise, there is a risk that the herbal remedies will conflict with conventional treatment.

Mistletoe should not be used by people who take monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor antidepressants such as Nardil. Potential reactions include a dangerous rise in blood pressure and a lowering of blood potassium levels (hypokalemia). In addition, mistletoe may interfere with the action of antidiabetic medications, to increase the activity of diuretics, and to increase the risk of a toxic reaction to aspirin or NSAIDs. Cancer patients considering mistletoe treatment should first consult with their doctors or practitioners.

*This information is presented for informational purposes only, and should not be taken as medical advice. We are not  physicians. Always consult your primary care physician before starting an herbal alternate therapy program.