Steal A Kiss And Snag A Berry

The tradition of the mistletoe dates back to ancient history and across many cultures. Ancient druids viewed it as a symbol of peace, goodwill and love. Warring tribes chancing across it stopped their battles observed a temporary truce, and people began displaying it the doorways of their homes as a sign of peace. The Druids also believed it to have the power to provide fertility.

There are some cultures who think it guarded them against witches and witchcraft, and other cultures believed it to have medicinal and healing properties and used it to treat a variety of illnesses.

But mistletoe’s roots run deep in the area of love. In some cultures, most notably in Europe, if you kiss a woman under the mistletoe sprig, it is considered a marriage proposal. But its lore has evolved into something a bit more lighthearted. According to most current day traditions, a young woman simply stands under the mistletoe and awaits her sweetheart’s kiss. Traditional legend dictates however that for each kiss that’s stolen from underneath a berry must be removed from the sprig, and if the berries are gone then so are the kisses. It is believed that an unmarried woman not kissed under the mistletoe will remain single for another year. Therefore, if you’re hanging mistletoe in your home, be sure to get a large enough bunch for the kisses to last!

Few people realize however that mistletoe is actually a parasitic plant with thick, leathery, poisonous leaves and white berries that lives on trees. One French tradition says that the reason mistletoe is poisonous is because it was growing on a tree that was used to make the cross that Jesus was crucified on. Because of this, it was cursed and denied a place to live and grow on earth, forever to be a parasite.

Mistletoe has been Oklahoma’s state flower and oldest state symbol, adopted in 1893.
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