Mistletoe

The Celtic people were the predominant population in western Europe going back five centuries before Christ.

Among them were “Druids” (a word which means “Knowing the Oak Tree”) They served as teachers and priests who celebrated their rites in forest clearings.

Mistletoe is actually a bush-like plant that grows on a host tree. Its drooping branches are two or three feet long and have yellow-green leaves and clusters of small white berries.

The Druids considered mistletoe a sacred plant with healing and protective powers. They would cut it from a holy oak tree with a golden sickle and distribute branches to the people, who hung them over doorways as protection against evil. If enemies met by chance beneath mistletoe in a forest, they laid down their weapons and maintained a truce for a day.

Centuries later, despite its pagan origins, mistletoe was looked upon in some places as a symbol of Christ because of its healing and peace-giving effects.

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