Chapter 14

Very Superstitious

The use of mistletoe and holly are superstitions that come from the Druidís and
other Pagan practices for the Winter Solstice.

Mistletoe

It was forbidden to fight in the presence of mistletoe. Eventually, this tradition
was verbalized as the Christmas slogan "Peace and Joy unto all menî. But this

saying is a perversion of the scriptures in the Bible.

ìAnd suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the

heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the

highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.î Luke 2:13-14

The angels that pronounced the birth of the Savior started by giving praise to the
most High God. There werenít saying, ìHave a nice dayî!

In the Celtic language mistletoe means, ìall healî.

ì[The] mistletoe bough in the Druid superstition...was derived

from BabylonÖThe mistletoe was regarded as a divine

branch - a branch that came from heaven, and grew upon a

tree that sprung out of the earth. Thus by the engrafting of

the celestial branch into the earthly tree, heaven and earth,

that sin had severed, were joined together, and thus the

mistletoe bough became the token of Divine reconciliation to

man, the kiss being the well known token of pardon and

reconciliation.î 1

A priest would cut the mistletoe from a tree with a golden sickle; during the
ceremony he wore a floor-length white robe. As the plant fell from its host tree,
usually an oak, people caught it in white cloths, making certain that the sacred
mistletoe never came in contact with the ground.

Pieces of the plant were used to decorate doorframes. Believers trusted them to
bring peace and prosperity, signaling a readiness to forget old grievances and
desire to form new friendships.

ìThe custom of a couple kissing beneath the mistletoe may

have originated from sensual rites related to the cult of

DionysusÖthe Druids worshipped Dionysus as one of their

bull gods.î 2