TIL : The reason we kiss under the mistletoe and its not what you think

in til •  8 years ago 

Are any of you familiar with Norse mythology?


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Well that's where the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe stems from.

The story goes like this

An arrow made of mistletoe killed Balder (One of Thor's Brothers)

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In a version of this story his mother Frigg

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brought her son back to life with her tears which turned the red mistletoe berries from red to white.

Frigg was so overwhelmed with Joy after her son came back to life, she blessed the mistletoe and promised a kiss to anyone that would walk underneath it.

Next time you kiss someone underneath a mistletoe, just remember that you are actually honouring Balder the Norse god :)

If you learn't something today and enjoyed my Today I learn't then please give me a follow @warrensteem for more interesting facts

Source:
http://www.sciforums.com/threads/kiss-under-the-mistletoe-may-be-the-christmas-tradition-but-you-actually-honor-balder.153835/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldr
http://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-aesir-gods-and-goddesses/frigg/

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i have learnt. Love a bit of mythology. Thanks for sharing!

Only a pleasure :D Don't forget to follow :)

Was already my dear!

you're a star ;)

This was pretty interesting! I had never expected this. Ironically, we here in Norway think of kissing under the Mistletoe as an American tradition that we don't really do here. It is actually pretty surprising that the tradition is actually from around here!