Historical Connections of The Fairy Tale Fungus

Enchanting, beautiful and a little unearthly. The Amanita Muscaria or Fly Agaric, is not the type of mushroom you should take home and eat. Nonetheless, this fairy tale fungus has an incredibly fascinating and mysterious history – filled with tales of religious ceremonies, fly-killing and the lovable Santa Claus. 

The captivating Amanita Muscaria is native to temperate and boreal forests in the Northern Hemisphere – found under the shade of Birch, Pine and Spruce trees. Overtime, it unintentionally spread to the Southern Hemisphere. Today, its fairy tale like appearance feed’s the imagination of children (and adults) around the world.

The Amanita Muscaria is also known as “fly agaric” – this is due to its traditional use as an insecticide on organic farms. The toxic mushroom cap was commonly mixed with milk to attract and kill flies – an alternative method to chemical pesticides. Incredible, right?

The most recognized image of Amanita Muscaria is a bright red cap with white or yellow warts. Although, the caps may also appear as orange or yellow as it’s developing. So, what’s the folktale behind this bewildering mushroom? 

Amanita Muscaria In The Environment 

Have you ever noticed when you’re out in the forest, these fairy tale fungi are always found beneath trees? Well, there’s a reason for that… it has a beautiful, symbiotic relationship with trees. Amanita Muscaria is a mycorrhiza, which quite literally means fungus-root. It helps the tree uptake minerals, and in return, the mushroom mycelium receives carbohydrates from the tree that allows it to grow.

Amanita Muscaria – The Santa Claus Mushroom?

It is a commonly held belief that the tradition of Christmas and Santa Claus came from St Nicholas. The generous man would deliver gifts to the homes of well behaved children on the early hours of December 25th. Seems plausible, right? Well, others aren’t so convinced – and they’ve sought out ways to explain the jolly, bearded mans curious red and white attire. 

And if you’ve ever found yourself in a conversation with your cynical uncle on Christmas day, perhaps they’ll try to tell you that Coco-Cola advertising in 1933 was what started the traditional image of Santa Claus. And while that does seem plausible – images of a red, plump man date back far earlier than this, putting that argument to rest.

So, where does Amanita Muscaria come into the picture? Well, fungi fans from around the world are tracing the story of Santa back to these toxic, hallucinogenic mushrooms. The Amanita Muscaria has a long history of use in religious ceremonies amongst Siberian Shamans. They would use these poisonous mushrooms to achieve a trance-like state and spiritual growth. But how does Shaman’s taking ‘shrooms lead to Santa Claus?

Let’s take a look at some similarities…

• The religious ceremonies using Amanita Muscaria are linked back to Shamans from the Arctic Region in Siberia (is it a coincidence that Santa Claus is from the North Pole?)

• The Shaman would collect the Amanita Muscaria and give them out as gifts each year on the Winter Solstice (perhaps another coincidence, keep reading…)

• To minimize the unwanted effects of fresh amanita the Shaman would dry them out. This would often involve hanging them in a sock over the fireplace (sound familiar?)

• In the wild, the Amanita Muscaria is commonly found beneath pine trees, just like those red and white presents underneath the Christmas tree…

• When the Shaman would gather the Amanita Muscaria, they traditionally wore red and white outfits to symbolize the treasured mushroom.

• Yurts were the traditional form of housing during this time. But how would the Shaman deliver these potent mushrooms in the dead of winter, when doorways were covered with layers of snow? Well, they’d climb up onto the roof of the yurt, and pass them through the hole (or chimney) at the top.

• Caribou (or Reindeer) also go to great lengths to get a taste of Amanita Muscaria. They love the stuff. They can eat them without harmful effects – although it can often cause them to behave drunkenly and prance around (what were some of the reindeer names again… Dancer and Prancer?)

• And last but not least, Rudolf’s red nose looks an awful lot like an Amanita Muscaria mushroom cap.

So there you have it, the folktale that suggests the Shaman people began the tradition of Santa Claus through a potent and poisonous mushroom. Whether it’s true or not is highly debatable – but it’s a captivating story for Christmas lunch table nonetheless.  When you pass the curious fairy tale mushroom in the forest, take a moment to marvel at its fascinating history. From flytraps to psychedelic reindeer to its relationship with trees – the Amanita Mascaria is mysterious and beautiful in equal measure.