Questions arise about whether mistletoe should be displayed during Christmas or if doing so is too pagan. Such questions stem from the lack of clear instruction from God on how to observe the holiday. In the absence of biblical roots, traditions like displaying mistletoe are subject to personal interpretation.

Mistletoe is one of the Christmas trappings imported directly from paganism, an example of syncretism. The ancient Druids used its supposed mystical powers to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. In ancient Norse mythology it symbolized love and friendship. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe is a later blending of the sexual license of Saturnalia with Druidic practice. Like the Christmas tree, which the Catholic Church adopted by welcoming pagan tree-worshippers and simply renaming their trees, mistletoe shows how pagan customs were absorbed into the holiday. God's command in Deuteronomy 12:30-31 forbids following such practices or serving Him the way the nations served their gods.

Mistletoe is one of the pagan customs attached to New Year's festivities. During the Middle Ages, the Roman customs of the season were maintained and augmented by the heathen rites of the incoming Teutonic peoples, and the Yule log and mistletoe were added to the popular New Year's celebrations at that time. The Yule log is a carry-over from the bonfires of sun-worship, while mistletoe is a parasite that the Druids used in their rites as a symbol of sex-worship. Mistletoe therefore belongs among the ways of the heathen that God forbids His people to learn or adopt (Jeremiah 10:2; Leviticus 18:3). Like the rest of the season's trappings, it carries no biblical sanction and is part of the Christianized paganism from which God's people are told to come out.