With the holidays around the corner, people will be celebrating traditionally by buying gifts, decorating with festive lights, and spending time with close friends and family. One traditional practice that has been around for years is the mistletoe. The tradition holds that when under the plant, you have to kiss the person beneath it. If the kiss is refused, bad luck will fall on the person who rejected it. But where does this custom come from?

According to History, the plant dates back to thousands of years ago. But it wasn’t used for romance. “The Greeks were known to use it as a cure for everything from menstrual cramps to even spleen disorders, and the Roman naturalists Pliny and Elder noted that it could be used as a balm against epilepsy, ulcers, and poisons.” The article then further explains how the romance gets involved with this herb. “ The plants’ romantic overtones most likely started with the Celtic Druids of the first century A.D. Because mistletoe could blossom even during the frozen winter, the Druids came to view it as a sacred symbol of vivacity, and they administered it to humans and animals alike in the hope of restoring fertility.” The plant’s association with fertility continued into the Middle Ages, and by the 18th century, it became included in Christmas traditions. The article states, “The kissing tradition appears to have first caught on among servants in England before spreading to the middle classes” 

One famous story about the mistletoe folklore originated from Norse mythology. “As the story goes, when the god Odin’s son Baldur was prophesied to die, his mother, Frigg, the goddess of love, went to all the animals and plants of the natural world to secure an oath that they would not harm him. But Frigg neglected to consult with the unassuming mistletoe, so the scheming god Loki made an arrow from the plant and saw that it was used to kill the otherwise invincible Baldur.” According to a happier version of the tale, the gods brought Baldur back from the dead. Thrilled, Frigg declared the mistletoe a symbol of love and vowed to plant a kiss on those who pass beneath it.