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During this Advent season, we are looking at common Christmas traditions that we often employ without knowing their origins and their history. While most of these traditions existed prior to or outside Christianity, faithful missionaries saw analogies between non-Christian practices and the gospel. Thus, they “baptized” these practices by sharing the gospel of God’s love offered in Jesus Christ through them. This week, we will focus on mistletoe. What’s Christ got to do with mistletoe?
Mistletoe is never mentioned in scripture and certainly isn’t a part of story of Jesus’ birth. Its name literally means, “dung twig.” It is a parasitic plant that grows on deciduous trees. Though humble by nature, it has a mystical quality. As an evergreen, it remains bright and green in the midst of otherwise barren trees. The Celts revered it. The Norse have a legend in which the mistletoe plays a crucial role. Because of that legend, Scandinavian warriors would stop mid-battle if they found themselves under mistletoe, believing it would dishonor their god to fight beneath this sacred sign of life.
Christian missionaries saw in the mistletoe legend a perfect parallel to the gospel: an instrument of death transformed into a promise of life and blessing. Just as mistletoe became a symbol of peace that caused warriors to lay down their weapons and seek reconciliation, the cross of Christ calls us to abandon our battles of bitterness, pride, and resentment. God's gift of Jesus at Christmas is an offering of peace—with God, with ourselves, and with one another. This Advent season, when you hang the mistletoe, remember it as more than an excuse for stolen kisses, but as a reminder that peace begins when we forgive as we have been forgiven.