Before someone asks tokiss you under the mistletoethisholidayseason , arm yourself with these fact about the legendary works — some of which are n’t so romantic .
1. Mistletoe is a parasite.
The flora acquire on trees , sucking up water supply and minerals from its host through a sinister - sound bump called ahaustorium . It might make you sense sound to know that Old World mistletoe is only partiallyparasitic : The plant is capable of photosynthesis , unlike true parasite that take all of their nutrient from their server .
2. Mistletoe has no fragrance.
Candle companies fuck to peddle vacation scents labeled “ mistletoe . ” you’re able to even purchase false mistletoe - scented line fresheners for your car . But the genuine plant , saysmistletoe expert Jonathan Briggs , has no scent at all . Briggs , who hails from Gloucestershire , England , debunks all manner of mistletoe misinformation on hisMistletoe Diaryblog .
3. Mistletoe has been used as medicine.
Over many century , mistletoe has been used to treat a battery of ailments , from leprosy , worms , and labor pains to gamy ancestry pressure . In Europe , injections of false mistletoe extract are often prescribed as acomplementary treatmentfor to slenderize the side burden of chemotherapy in Cancer the Crab patients .
4.Mistletoe hunting is a southern tradition.
Mistletoe typically grows in the highest branches of tall trees . reap the buncheswith a scattergun , to be sell as decorations during the holiday season , is a time - honour wintertime activity in the southern U.S. countenance ’s hope no one ’s kissing under it at the time .
5. People once hung mistletoe over doors to keep ghosts away.
In the medieval era , mistletoe was n’t just aChristmasdecoration , but one perhaps better suitable toHalloween . Hung over doors to homes and stalls , it was thought to prevent witches andghostsfrom enter .
6. The wordmistletoemay be a reference to bird poop.
Mistletoemay be nod to the seeds ’ power to stay to tree branches whenpoopedout by birds . Theunusual Son might come from the Old Englishmissel , which could touch on to themistle thrush , a bird thought to spread the seed through its droppings ; and the Proto - Teutonic word for " twig . " The viscous middle bed of the Viscum album yield is so sticky that the seeds get glue where they land post - digestion , which embark on a new Viscum album works .
7. Druids revered mistletoe.
The Romanist historian Pliny the Elder say how druidsviewed mistletoeas consecrated , recounting a ceremony where they gathered it with a gilt reap hook , then sacrifice two white bulls . The ceremony still takes place each class , minus the copper - execution , at theTenbury Mistletoe Festivalin England .
8. In Norse mythology, mistletoe is like kryptonite.
Balder , the favorite son of principal god Odin and the goddess Frigg , wasfelled by an arrowmade of mistletoe , the only substance that could harm him . curiously , this may have been the origin of thekissing tradition . Some retellings of the story say that Frigg resuscitate Balder and was so glad , she command anyone who stand under the mistletoe to buss as a reminder of how lovemaking conquered death .
A adaptation of this story was published in 2010 ; it has been updated for 2022 .
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