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There's more to mistletoe art than just Christmas cards...
This mistletoe-themed glass medallion is an invitation to Rene Lalique's 1912 exhibition.
This page is part of the Mistletoe Pages, which aim to provides helpful information on many aspects of mistletoe includng biology, conservation, control, traditions, harvesting, medicinal usage and traditions in art nouveau.
The full menu is at the top of the page.
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Christmas Mistletoe Art
Both types of 'Christmas' Mistletoe are, of course, a regular feature in Christmas art work
The examples here show some typical examples of images of some vintage Christmas card art - with samples of the distinctive European mistletoe shape, and the American mistletoe. There are more examples in the Christmas traditions pages.
(this example is a card from Amnesty's 2009 Christmas Shop)
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Seasonal depictions of European mistletoe often show the berries between the leaves - despite the botanical reality that the leaves are always one internode (stem) in front of the berries.
Slightly annoying for purists - but this artistic license does mean the artwork can be much simpler!
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Mistletoe is, curiously, much more frequently used on old, late Victorian to mid-20th century Christmas Cards.
And when it is used on modern cards, most only use a tiny sprig of it here and there, rather than making it a main feature (the Amnesty Card above left is a notable exception)
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Hand-embroidered cards, sent home from the Front, were a feature of Christmasses in the First World War.
Many depicted mistletoe - often in its traditional continental sense of a symbol of good luck and peace.
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The US Christmas Mistletoe - much less interesting to look at than our European plant - is often bunched up with a red ribbon to give it some visual appeal.
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Use of plastic mistletoe is on the increase - even though it is clearly 'cheating' (bits of green and white plastic are not what the traditions are about!)
Most of it seems to be modelled on the American mistletoe species - with much more compact branching and berries in branched bunches.
This picture shows (UK-bought) plastic mistletoe alongside actual American mistletoe.
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Looking for 'botanically-correct' mistletoe cards?
Try the English Mistletoe Shop - some examples from there are shown below: |
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European Mistletoe, Viscum album, from Woodville's Medical Botany
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European Mistletoe, Viscum album, from Sowerby's English Botany, 1865
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The French Mistletoe Harvest in the 1930s, for the English Christmas Markets
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A mistletoe 'bundle' - one lot at the Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Auctions.
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