Kissing Under The Mistletoe!

What would Christmas be without kissing under the mistletoe?

Kissing under the mistletoe has been a tradition for more than a thousand years. But mistletoe is not only associated with a gentle kiss, it has lore all its own - especially in a buzzing kids world.

• Although the Druids didn't believe in kissing under the mistletoe, they believed mistletoe possessed magical powers. Their priests cut the plant with golden sickles and gathered the trimmings on white cloth so the plant would never touch the earth and lose its enchantment.
   
• The French said mistletoe was cursed because it grew on the wood from which the cross of Christ was made and that it was doomed to be a rootless parasite forever. Needless to say they weren't kissing under the mistletoe either.
   
• In the Middle Ages, mistletoe was hung from ceilings in Europe to ward off evil, or it was dangled over doors to prevent the entrance of witches. If mistletoe was suspended over a crib, the child was said to be safe from kidnapping. But none of that included kissing under the mistletoe.

Here's how kissing under the mistletoe got started – according to Viking lore:

It describes the goddess of love, Frigga, who made each plant and animal promise not to kill her son Baldur. She forgot the mistletoe plant and Baldur was killed by a spear made from it. The white berries on the mistletoe are said to have been created from her tears.

When her son returned to life, Frigga proclaimed the mistletoe to be sacred. She gave everyone a kiss under the mistletoe as they passed beneath it and decreed the plant should henceforth bring love. This is said to be the origin of kissing under the mistletoe.

So go ahead. Have fun; you'll like kissing under the mistletoe . . . and give a nod to Frigga for starting a very enjoyable custom.