Kissing has been going on under the mistletoe for ages, but have you got in on the action? In theory it sounds like fun. Staking out the area under a plant and waiting for your future victims--ahem...crushes to lock lips with.
It's a nice placed to set up a romance, and that thought is how a story can be born. Inspiration can strike anywhere, and that is when I will begin to research the inspiration so it can work for my future stories. Where did the strange cultural custom come from?
The answer lies in ancient Scandinavia. There it was recognized as the plant of peace. If enemies met in a forest beneath it, they would make a truce to not fight until the next day. The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe began with the Norse myth of Baldur, who died and was then resurrected. Frigga his mother at the birth of her son, made all the plants in the forest promise that they would not harm him. Loki who was also the God of mischief noticed she forgot the mistletoe plant. He tricked another God into killing Baldur by fashioning a spear tipped with mistletoe. Since Baldur was a God of vegetation, his death brought Winter to the world. Eventually he was brought back to life and his mother decreed the mistletoe plant sacred, ordering it to bring love rather than death into the world. So even now when two people pass under the misteltoe they will kiss to celebrate Baldur's resurrection.
Have you ever kissed under the mistletoe? Not me, but I've always wanted to.
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