Christmas is all about tradition, from a tree with presents beneath it, to the Christmas lights that signal the start of the season.
One of the more curious customs is the tradition of kissing beneath the mistletoe, and not many people know the origin behind it.
The basic idea of the legend is that anyone standing beneath a sprig of mistletoe was to receive a kiss, and bad luck would befall anyone who was to say no. While this perhaps wouldn’t carry through quite so well today, the question of why this particular plant was chosen, or how kissing became relevant in the first place, is still a mystery to most people.
Mistletoe was first used as part of a ritual by Celtic druids in Scotland and Ireland during the 1st century AD. It became key to their Ritual of Oak, and Mistletoe and was regarded as a sign of fertility.
Norse mythology also valued mistletoe as a symbol of peace and love, which perhaps provides a little more clarity as to how the custom came about. Figg, a Norse goddess, is said to have seen her son killed by a mistletoe arrow, and transformed it into a plant that people would be kissed by, provided humans stopped using it as a weapon.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the contemporary festive kissing tradition is that it originated in England – hardly a nation known for passion! Mistletoe began to be adopted as part of the Christmas decorations during the 18th century, and the kissing element is likely a holdover from ancient pre-Christian rituals. These days, it still makes for a pretty addition to any wreath or festive decor.
