[Lee Stewart]

The Reason We Kiss Under the Mistletoe

We have the goddess Frigg to thank for mistletoe taking on even more of an amorous association. As the myth goes, Odin, the god of wisdom, and his wife Frigg had a son named Baldur who was prophesied to be killed. Frigg met with all living things (plants and animals) urging them not to harm her son. She forgot to reach out to the unassuming and non-threatening mistletoe, which the evil Loki then used to forge the spear that brought down Baldur.

The tears Frigg cried over her son became the berries that can be found on mistletoe and she decried from that day forward that the plant would never be used as a weapon again. It would be a symbol of love instead, and she vowed to bestow a kiss on anyone who walked underneath it. During this period, people would stand under mistletoe trying to reconcile after an argument.