| Misteltoe facts |
- Misteltoe is a parasitic plant, it grows on the branches or trunk of a tree and actually sends out roots that penetrate into the tree and take up nutrients
- The European mistletoe is a green shrub with small, yellow flowers and white, sticky berries which are considered poisonous. It commonly seen on apple but only rarely on oak trees. The rarer oak mistletoe was greatly venerated by the ancient Celts and Germans and used as a ceremonial plant by early Europeans
- In the Middle Ages and later, branches of mistletoe were hung from ceilings to ward off evil spirits. In Europe they were placed over house and stable doors to prevent the entrance of witches
- Kissing under the mistletoe is first found associated with the Greek festival of Saturnalia and later with primitive marriage rites. Mistletoe was believed to have the power of bestowing fertility, and the dung from which the mistletoe was thought to arise was also said to have "life-giving" power
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Tenbury residents have joined forces to preserve a local tradition that looked like it was about to end this Christmas. The Mistletoe Auctions have taken place at the Tenbury Wells auction yard in Tenbury Wells on three Tuesdays in December for years. Recently, Herefordshire crisp manufacturer Tyrrells bought the site where the market is held and people feared that this year's auctions would be the last of many.
“I’ve been coming here for over 40 years,” said Jennifer Taylor of Breinton, Herefordshire.
“I first started coming with my father, a Romany gypsy. "It’s a real traveller tradition. We’d pick loads of holly and mistletoe and bring it here in great bundles. "Lots of traders would come up from London and even down from Scotland to buy it. Plenty still do.”
Jennifer’s daughter Sadie runs a small business which relies on the market:
“I do a good trade in wreaths and other decorations made from greenery here at the auctions. "I've sold 50 today and will sell another 200 or 300 at the next two auctions. "It’s a useful little business but very hard on the hands - although not as hard as it was before I got a machine to help tie the wreaths. "But I still have to wind my hands with electrical tape to protect them.
“I’m very sad that the market won’t be here next year.
| "This is where we’ve been coming all these years - it won’t be the same" |
| Sadie Taylor |
"People are talking about having an annual Mistletoe Festival in Tenbury in the future, but if that happens it won’t be on this site. "This is where we’ve been coming all these years - it won’t be the same.
“I’m having to do what I can now to make sure my business survives next year if there are no more auctions.
"A friend has printed a lot of business cards for me and I’m handing them to everyone who buys my wreaths this year. "Hopefully, they’ll come back to me next Christma - who knows.”
But thanks to local people, Sadie may have an outlet for her decorations in Tenbury next year after all.
It appears that the rumours of an annual Mistletoe Festival are more than just talk. A steering group made up of members of the Tenbury community have announced that Tuesday 30th November 2004, the day of this year's second auction, will be the launch of Tenbury's first official Mistletoe Festival. Tenbury High School's head girl, Chloe Elding, will be crowned Mistletoe Queen 2004 and will begin her reign in a specially-created costume donated by London-based artist/designer Pauline Vincent. The Mistletoe Festival organisers are hoping that next year, the Mistletoe Queen will have a Holly King at her side.
Mary Smith’s family have also been visiting the market for years, and this year Mary picked seven bundles of holly to sell at the auction.
“It’s not like it was – I shan’t be sorry to see it go” she said. “They’re robbing us. It used to be all travellers selling here, but now it’s mainly farmers. "The price has gone right dow - I used to get at least a tenner a bundle for good holly, but this year it’s down to six or seven pounds. "Even the gold and silver (variegated forms of holly) is only just over a tenner, and that should be worth 20 quid a bundle.”
Greengrocer Richard Appleby has another theory as to why the holly and mistletoe is not selling so well:
“ I always make sure I have plenty in stock coming up to Christmas, but every year I sell less and less. "People just aren’t buying it, they don’t ‘Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly’ any more. "They buy glittery decorations from chainstores instead - that’s modern life for you. "Maybe more of us should follow Tenbury's lead and make an effort to stop our festive traditions from dying out." |
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