The Norse folk tell the story of the Norse god Baldur being killed by an arrow made of mistletoe. The tale goes that Baldur's mother, Frigg, is so upset that her tears turn into white berries on the mistletoe plant, symbolizing her love for him.
Greeks saw mistletoe a little differently to others and believed it to be a symbol of male fertility, and called its white berries "oak sperm".
We believe hanging it over a door came from the Ancient Druids as to them, Mistletoe was a sacred plant with great medicinal and mythical powers. They would hang mistletoe above their doors for luck.
Mistletoe was seen in such light because of it's resilience, blossoming even during the harshest and most frozen of Winters.
Kissing under the mistletoe is believed to have been started here, in England between 1720 and 1784. The earliest reference to the tradition of kissing under the mistletoes is from a song published in 1784 however there is an alternative version to the Norse tales of Baldur, in which the gods were able to resurrect Baldur from the dead. Delighted, Frigg (his mother) declared mistletoe a symbol of love and vowed to plant a kiss on all those who passed beneath it (Thank you to History.com for that insight).
Back to England and there have been varying customs associated to kissing under mistletoe. Some tell the story of men being allowed to steal a kiss from any woman caught standing under the mistletoe, and refusing was viewed as bad luck. Another tradition instructed the merrymakers to pluck a single berry from the mistletoe with each kiss, and to stop sharing a kiss once they were all gone. That's no fun is it?!
We've found exploring the history of mistletoe fascinating especially how something that is actually a semi- parasitic and poisonous evergreen shrub can be romantisced in such a way through history.
If you find yourself picking mistletoe from the wild this Winter, remember to only pick what you need, never ever pull the plant up from the roots, and always ask for permission if not in a public place.
Will you be hanging mistletoe this year?
