Mistletoe at Christmas

The mistletoe plant has been long associated with Christmastime and kissing. But oddly enough, the actual plant is parasitic and toxic.

It was once considered to have fertility magic. Mistletoe is seen as having both luck and fertility energy and couples would kiss under the mistletoe to ensure fertility.

Pagan cultures regarded the white berries as symbols of male fertility, with the seeds resembling semen. The Celts held this belief and the Ancient Greeks referred to mistletoe as "oak sperm." 

Mistletoe may have played an important role in Druidic mythology in the Ritual of Oak and Mistletoe. Evidence taken from bog bodies makes the Celtic use of mistletoe seem medicinal rather than ritual. The Romans associated mistletoe with peace, love and understanding and hung it over doorways to protect the household.

In the Christian era, mistletoe in the Western world became associated with Christmas as a decoration under which lovers are expected to kiss. It was also considered to be protection from witches and demons. 

The serving class of Victorian England - particularly men - is credited with perpetuating the kissing tradition that dictated that a man was allowed to kiss any woman standing underneath mistletoe, and that bad luck would befall any woman who refused the kiss.

Mistletoe in its parasitic role on a tree

Mistletoe species grow on a wide range of host trees, some of which experience side effects including reduced growth, stunting, and loss of infested outer branches. A heavy infestation may also kill the host plant. European mistletoe, Viscum album, successfully parasitizes more than 200 tree and shrub species

There are 1500 species of mistletoe, varying widely in toxicity to humans; the European mistletoe is more toxic than the American mistletoe (Phoradendron serotinum), though concerns regarding toxicity are more prevalent in the US. The effects are not usually fatal.

The Sears Catalog

Sears is closing another 40 stores as it aims to survive Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They are not totally disappearing but this will leave the company with fewer than 500 locations.

But the Christmas season makes me think about another aspect of Sears that is also gone - the Christmas catalog.

When I was a kid and that catalog arrived, I spent days paging through the pages marking all the things I wanted to see under the Christmas tree. Of course, I didn't expect to get all the things I marked (even when I did believe in Santa Claus), but it was a lot of fun to "shop" in the catalog. Wasn't it called the "Wish Book" at some point?

But Sears was encouraging dreaming much earlier in the 20th century for adults. Beginning in 1908, Sears started selling entire houses from a catalog.

In those days they were still known as Sears, Roebuck & Co., and they were able to package and ship more than 400 different types of homes and buildings. These kits were  25-tons of 30,000 pre-cut parts, plumbing and electrical fixtures, and up to 750 pounds of nails. Without commercial air and ground shipping, the kits were transported by railroad.

Talk about the American Dream, if you had the cash, you could order in 1908 the original model, number 125, which was an 8 room bungalow style house. It cost $945.

Perhaps, more amazing is that while half of those kits were built professionally, the other half were built by the homeowners themselves DIY-style. Apparently, many of the latter construction projects were neighborhood "barn-raisings" with family, friends, and neighbors.

How about a 10 room colonial for $6488?

The complete homes sales ended in 1939 as WWII approached. Besides these arts and crafts Sears homes, there were other sources of homes of moderate cost.

Happy Chrismukkah

My Rutgers Alumni News once told me about a fellow alum who has had some literary success with a hybrid holiday for this season.

Ron Gompertz was  a fellow Rutgers College ’75 alum. I remember him as a ski bum and psych major who dated Laurie.

He is the Jewish son of Holocaust survivors and his wife, Michelle, is a minister’s daughter. Their religious mashup led him to write Chrismukkah: Everything You Need to Know to Celebrate the Hybrid Holiday.

The book is described on Amazon.com in this way:

"Christmas meets Hanukkah for millions of mixed-faith families—who deck their trees with Stars of David and spin the dreidel under mistletoe. Here is a one-of-a-kind, amusingly illustrated and endlessly entertaining guide to the joys—and oys—of celebrating Chrismukkah, the hybrid holiday.

Now published in paperback, this handy (and often hilarious) lifestyle guide walks us through all the Chrismukkah events, history , and lore. You’ll learn about hybrid holiday traditions in decorating (ornaments, wreaths, menorahs, dreidels); innovative tchotchkes (Chrismukkah cards, stockings, lights); and a plethora of menorah options (Godzilla or snowman, anyone?).

Plus, the book includes rollicking games to play and songs to sing, along with easy-to-follow recipes for Latkes with Sugar Plum Fairy Sauce, General Saul’s Chicken, Mama Mia Matzah Pizza!, Blitzen’s Blintzes, and other Noel Noshes.

Your yuletide happy hours will never be the same once you start mixing a Yule Plotz, Meshugga Nog, or Manishewitz Mulled Wine.

Chrismukkah is not Ron's invention, but was a hybrid celebration of Christmas and Hanukkah which seems to have first appeared on the television show The O.C. in 2003.

Ron got into it (as others have done with Jerry Seinfeld's TV holiday of Festivus) and started sending out cards to friends. He registered Chrismukkah.com (which appears to be currenly down and out) and then wrote the book version of the “mish-mash holiday.”

He did get some grief from conservative Christians and Orthodox Jews, but also acceptance from others who had to deal with the mix that leads to the “December Dilemma.”

This post originally appeared here 12/30/2009