Mistletoe, when placed above the head of an unsuspecting bystander or strategically hung before a party, requires that two people standing beneath its bough kiss. Here's something you probably didn't know: Mistletoe is a parasitic plant with poisonous berries. It's also a strong nervine that has been therapeutically used to stop epileptic seizures and aid in difficult sleep disorders, although it is seldom used outside clinical settings because of its strength and potency.

Perhaps its parasitic nature inspires humans to also take what they want from an unknowing victim. Mistletoe can be seen growing as a bush on trees such as the Ash, Hawthornes, Lime, Cedar, and Larch. Birds pick its white berries. When dropped, their sticky surface adheres to a tree which becomes it's home and host. Mistletoe is a true parasite, meaning that at no point in its life does it receive nutrition on its own. Without the host, mistletoe wouldn't survive.

Partridge and A Pear Tree

Pear trees are another symbolic plant at Christmastime, and they have an interesting relationship with mistletoe. Researchers noticed that while mistletoe boasts a high success rate of parasitism on most deciduous trees, it doesn't survive on the pear tree. Ayurvedically speaking, this makes sense: pears are high in ojas (the Ayurvedic term for immunity, and healthy, glowing vitality). Ojas are high in the entire pear tree, thus protecting it from parasitic invaders like mistletoe.

Mistletoe throughout the Ages

This pesky plant has been attracting attention for quite some time. The Ancient Greeks revered mistletoe as an aphrodisiac. The Druids, who believed it to cure infertility and protect from all poisons, conducted a ritual in which mistletoe is cut down in a ceremony involving the sacrifice of two bulls. Shakespeare refers to it in his poetry as "the baleful mistletoe."

But why are we obligated to kiss under mistletoe? The answer lies in a Norse myth in which the god Baldur was so loved by his mother Frigg that she vowed to protect him from all threats. She was very thorough. But, she forgot the baleful mistletoe. Baldur's jealous brother Loki, whose antics have been made famous in the recent Thor flicks, whittled an arrow out of mistletoe wood and shot him dead. To remind us of mistletoe and negate its deadly power, Frigg declared any who passed under it must kiss, not kill.

Happy Holidays!

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