We all know that it’s considered bad luck to avoid kissing a charmer under the mistletoe. But have you also heard that this winter-blooming plant is actually a not-so-romantic parasite? I don’t want you to let a little detail like that get in the way of holiday fun, so today I’m sharing how mistletoe became a passion plant:)

According to Norse mythology, the son of the love goddess Frigg was killed by an arrow made from a poisonous mistletoe tree. As the goddess wept over her son’s body, her tears formed small, white berries on the arrow and he was brought back to life. In gratitude, she turned the mistletoe into a symbol of love and proclaimed that anyone who passed under it must be kissed.

Over two thousand years later, 19th century author Washington Irving observed, “The mistletoe is still hung up in farm houses and kitchens at Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases.”

Today, we pay no never mind to the berry-plucking part of this tradition. And many think of the holidays as a passionate season when the kisses are flowing whether there is mistletoe or not. So all you romance lovers, this is your time!