More History of Mistletoe Kissing

Kisses Numbered By Mistletoe Berries — Mistletoe figures in many legends from pre-Christian times. Druid tree-worshippers believed it had magical powers of healing. Romans thought that enemies who met beneath the mistletoe must kiss and declare a day’s truce. Today, kissing beneath the mistletoe remains a happy holiday custom. Correct procedure is that a berry must be removed for every kiss taken, and when all the berries are gone, there are no more kisses available.— 1962

Respecting the question of kissing under the mistletoe, a correspondent writes to London Notes and Queries; One would suppose, from the part played by the mistletoe in Scandinavian mythology, that this custom was common to all northern peoples. Baldur was slain by a mistletoe dart at the instigation of Loki, and in reparation for the injury the plant was afterward dedicated to his mother, Frigg, so long as it did not touch earth, Loki’s empire. On this account it is hung from the ceilings of houses, and the kiss giver under it signifies that it is no longer an instrument of mischief. The fetes held in commemoration of the sacred mistletoe survived in some parts of France into the sixteenth century. The plant was credited with many talismanic properties, and its festival attracted immense gatherings of people.” —Inyo Independent, 1889

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