Travel the highways and byways of Herefordshire in Autumn and Winter and you cannot fail to notice the abundance of mistletoe growing in the orchards and on large deciduous trees. Tenbury Wells calls itself England's Mistletoe Town and holds its annual Mistletoe Festival in late November and early December.
Tenbury Wells is surrounded by apple orchards, to the point where Queen Victoria described it as the Little Town in the Orchard . The many apple orchards in the Teme Valley not only produce hundreds of apple varieties but they also yield a massive crop of mistletoe each Christmas time.
The druidic mistletoe tradition in Britain is well known. The druidic priesthood valued mistletoe both as a peace symbol and in medicine. They harvested it with a golden sickle, never letting it touch the ground.
The most obvious tradition, however, is the kissing one. Hanging mistletoe and kissing loved ones, or complete strangers, under it is a hugely popular Christmas custom.
It is a remnant of an ancient fertility tradition, helped along by some British re-invention in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The European mistletoe, as a parasitic plant growing on deciduous trees, can be seen as a symbol of the continuing 'life-force' (and vitality/fertility) of the tree through the winter.
The modern tradition may be more to with 18th century fashions to promote druidic ideas than a genuine national tradition. It is curious that it is very British, hardly practised abroad except for English-speaking countries, but particularly popular in North America.
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Tenbury Wells holds its annual Mistletoe Festival in late November and early December.
Main events take place on the first Saturday in December (aka National Mistletoe Day) though there is a longer mistletoe season of events around this date. These events include the town's traditional wholesale Mistletoe Auctions.
There are many events lined-up for the 5th, including decoration workshops, a Mistletoe procession, Street Entertainment, a Craft Fair and an Eisteddfod.
Highlights
| 11.45am |
Mistletoe Procession and Ceremony |
| 2.30pm |
Retail Mistletoe Auction |
| 4.00pm |
Crowning of the Mistletoe Queen and the Holly Prince |
| 4.15pm |
Lantern and Santa Parade |
| 8.00pm |
Different Twig Mistletoe Eisteddfod |
For full programme see the Official Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Festival web page
Everything you ever wanted to know about Mistletoe at The Mistletoe Pages
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