The mistletoe then came to represent transformation, renewal, and the triumph of life over death — all Christian values which came to be associated with mistletoe, once Christianity replaced ancient Norse beliefs.
So far this week the objects in this world history have taken me along the royal roads of the Persian Empire, into mythical battles in Athens and to some heavy drinking in northern Europe.
Religion in Norse tradition was practiced both in the home and in sacred spaces like specific clearings in the woods, and their religion was a fully integrated part of their everyday lives.
The Norse oral tradition includes tales of a land called Vineland the Good and to this day some still believe that the Norse voyagers traveled much farther south along the Atlantic coast than was previously believed.
Despite their genetic ancestry, it is Gaelic that lives on and not Norse, but Islanders like Mairead have no ill feelings to those who may have conquered these isles, so many years ago.