All About Thyme: December 2023

Mistletoe: The Yule Herb

December's Special Days: A Potpourri of Celebrations

Herb of the Year for 2023: Ginger (Zingiber officinale). Named by the International Herb Association
Flower of the Month for December: Poinsettia
December is National Eggnog Month. Fruit Cake Month, too

Week 1. National Cookie Cutter Week
December 5: Tomorrow is National Cookie Day.
December 7: Hanukkah starts this evening, ends the evening of December 15.
December 8: National Chocolate Brownie Day (It's true: Chocolate really is an herb!)

Week 2. Christmas Bird Count begins this week
December 12: Gingerbread House Day.
December 13: St. Lucia's Festival of Lights.
December 17: On this day in 1843, "A Christmas Carol" was published. Also: National Maple Syrup Day.

Week 3. Solstice Week
December 21, 10:27 pm ET: Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. Opening of the Capricorn cycle, which ends Jan. 20.
December 24: National Eggnog Day—just in time for Christmas Eve.

Week 4. Yule Week
December 25: At last, Christmas! Have a merry (and healthy!) holiday.
December 26: Kwanza.
December 31: New Year’s Eve. Be joyful--and safe!

Mistletoe: The Yule Herb

European mistletoe. © ChristianWernerZH / Flickr

North American mistletoe (Phoradendron) does not belong to the same genus as the European mistletoe (Viscum). But the legends and lore of the European plant long ago made their way to America and got tangled up with our mistletoe. And all mistletoes have one thing in common: they are hemiparasitic. That is, they grow on a host plant—usually a tree—from which they get part of their nutrients.

Mistletoe seeds are sticky and are easily transferred, by birds, to the tree on which the plants will spend their lives. This process was largely invisible, so many ancient cultures held the plant to be sacred and magical, a gift of the gods.

Here are seven bits of fascinating mistletoe lore I gathered when I was doing research for the China Bayles holiday mystery, Mistletoe Man:

• In ancient Greece, the white berries were known as “oak sperm” and were considered a symbol, and an enhancement, of male fertility—hence an aphrodisiac. (Don’t try this. Mistletoe may not be deadly, but its toxins are hazardous.) The plant was used in marriage and fertility rituals—perhaps a source of the tradition of kissing under mistletoe.

• In Scandinavian mythology, the troublemaker Loki tricked the blind Hodur into killing Loki’s brother, Baldur, with a mistletoe arrow. Their mother, Frigga, restored her dead son to life under a mistletoe, the source of many different stories about love and kisses under mistletoe.

• In Celtic England, the Druids held the plant as sacred and powerfully medicinal, especially when it grew on an oak tree. The harvest of its berries around the time of the winter solstice became part of a ritual involving animal sacrifice and feasting.

• In ancient Ireland, mistletoe was hung from the rafters of homes to protect against fire and lightning.

• In Wales, mistletoe gathered on Midsummer Eve was placed under the pillow at Yule-tide to induce prophetic dreams.

• In northern Europe, mistletoe was reputed to act as a master key that would open any lock.

• In Sweden, farmers hung mistletoe in the horse's stall and the cow's crib, to protect against evil trolls. They also used the large twigs as divining rods.

Just when did the Yuletide tradition of kissing under the mistletoe emerge? Historians find it first mentioned in England in 1784, in a popular song from the comic opera Two to One:

When at Christmas in the hall
The men and maids are hopping
If by chance I hear ‘em bawl,
Amongst ‘em quick I pop in.

“What all the men, Jem, John, and Joe,
Cry, ‘What good-luck has sent ye?’
And kiss beneath the mistletoe,
The girl not turn’d of twenty.”

And we mustn’t forget Dickens:

From the centre of the ceiling of this kitchen, old Wardle had just suspended, with his own hands, a huge branch of mistletoe, and this same branch of mistletoe instantaneously gave rise to a scene of general and most delightful struggling and confusion; in the midst of which, Mr. Pickwick, with a gallantry that would have done honour to a descendant of Lady Tollimglower herself, took the old lady by the hand, led her beneath the mystic branch, and saluted her in all courtesy and decorum.—Pickwick Papers, 1836-1837

Happy Yule!

December's To-Do

"Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that." Did any story ever offer a more tantalizing first line? Read Dickens' Christmas classic in an early edition, with illustrations. And find a recipe for the "Christmas bowl of Smoking Bishop" that Scrooge and Bob Cratchit enjoy on the very last page.

Did you know that maple bark has been used medicinally? Mohawk Indians and other Northeastern tribes used it to prepare a blood purifier, eye medicine, and cough medicine. Like us, they cherished the sap, boiled, as a sweetener. For a baker’s dozen sweet & savory recipes, go here. (At our house, we're especially fond of the maple-rosemary French toast.)

Craft a holly wreath, a centerpiece, or a topiary. 3 great ideas using fresh holly (with or without berries) or an everlasting holly garland from the craft shop. And read China's and Ruby's holiday adventure in Holly Blues.

Celebrate Kwanzaa with a great Kwanzaa feast: recipes & ideas for a bright and lively celebration.

How many eggnog recipes do you have in your file? Not nearly enough! Here are 20 more—bet there are some you've never thought of. And to go with your eggnog (or mulled wine or hot cider), some very special eggnog cookies with eggnog glaze. Oh, my! And while you’re enjoying those cookies, dip into The Darling Dahlias and the Poinsettia Puzzle, the Dahlias’ holiday mystery.