When preparing for the holiday season, people observe various traditions from decorating a Christmas tree to hanging stockings from the mantel to tying a sprig of mistletoe in a doorway. Anyone familiar with the mistletoe tradition knows that meeting under it often ends in a kiss, as the song “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” alludes to. But what is the history behind the mistletoe tradition?.

Although parasitic by nature, mistletoe has long been considered a mystical, magical plant. Many ancient cultures believed the plant to heal sickness, protect life and enhance love and fertility. Europeans often hung it over the entrances to their homes, barns and stables to ward off bad spirits.

The plant was also considered a symbol of peace in many cultures. The Druids, for example, believed it to be so powerful that warring clans would cease battle upon the first sight of the plant. In Scandinavia, individuals meeting under it in conflict could declare a truce or kiss and make up.

In the Norse myth of the death of the god Balder, the mistletoe has potent but promising properties. Balder dreams he is going to die and tells his mother Frigga. Alarmed, Frigga secures promises from everything and everyone not to harm Balder, except for the mistletoe. Aware of this, the mischievous god Loki tricks the blind god Hoder into shooting Balder with an arrow made of mistletoe. Balder dies, much to Frigga’s horror. As Frigga sheds tears on the mistletoe plant, its berries turn white. Eventually Frigga brings Balder back to life, and in celebration, kisses everyone she meets under the mistletoe. From that day forward, the mistletoe brings only kisses of joy to those who come into contact with it.

The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe was the basis of kissing balls held in England during the 18th century. Any girl caught beneath the mistletoe could not refuse a kiss of friendship or love and would be married within a year. Today, in some parts of England, the mistletoe must be burned on the 12th night so that all of young men and women who have kissed beneath it may marry.

Mistletoe remains a holiday tradition associated with kissing in many countries today. People often hang up a sprig of mistletoe in a doorway or room and exchange a kiss whenever they meet beneath it. Legend has it that couples in love that kiss beneath the mistletoe will one day marry and have a long, happy life together.