Tenbury Wells, UK. 2nd Dec, 2017. Druids walk to the Burgage to perform a ceremony celebrating National Mistletoe Day at the Burgage in Tenbury Wells on December 2nd 2017. First endorsed by Parliament in 2005 National Mistletoe Day takes place on 1st December (or the nearest Saturday) each year. Tenbury's Mistletoe Festival began in 2004, when the traditional Mistletoe Auctions, held in the town for over 100 years, seemed threatened with closure. Local people were determined Tenbury's Mistletoe legacy would continue, and so the Festival was born. Credit: Jim Wood/Alamy Live News
DECEMBER 02 - TENBURY WELLS: Druids walk to the Burgage to perform a ceremony celebrating National Mistletoe Day at the Burgage in Tenbury Wells on December 2nd 2017. First endorsed by Parliament in 2005 National Mistletoe Day takes place on 1st December (or the nearest Saturday) each year. Tenbury's Mistletoe Festival began in 2004, when the traditional Mistletoe Auctions, held in the town for over 100 years, seemed threatened with closure. Local people were determined Tenbury's Mistletoe legacy would continue, and so the Festival was born. Events are centred around the Mistletoe auction season, from late November to early December. They usually include the crowning of the Mistletoe Queen and a druidic celebration of mistletoe. Classical accounts state that mistletoe was held to be deeply sacred by the Druids, especially when discovered upon an oak tree. The Druids are thought to have believed that the berries of the mistletoe represented the sperm of the Gods. The plant in old folklore is called Allheal, used in folk medicine to cure many ills, the Druids considered the mistletoe to be a sacred plant and believed it had miraculous properties which could cure illnesses, serve as an antidote against poisons, ensure fertility and protect against the ill effects of witchcraft. When taken as a form of diluted tea, it was thought as a curative for everything from infertility to epilepsy.
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Keywords: 2010s, 2017, candid, ceremony, circle, cloudy, day, druids, exterior, landscape, mistletoe, national, ritiual, tenbury, wells, winter, worcestershire
