MistleToe
I Lived My Life Between The Worlds
Neither Earth Nor Sky Would Call Me Child
The Birds Were My Companions
The Wind And Rain My Mentors
Daily I Grew In Power And Strength
Till Snatched Out Of Time By The Trickster
The Anglo-Saxons Associated The Powers Of The Mistletoe To The Legend Of Freya, The Goddess Of Love, Beauty And Fertility
According To The Legend, A Man Had To Kiss Any Young Girl Who, Without Realizing It, Found Herself Accidentally Under A Sprig Of Mistletoe Hanging From The Ceiling
Guys Would Pluck A Berry When They Kissed The Girls And When The Last Berry Was Gone, There Would Be No More Kissing!
The History Of Kissing Under The Mistletoe Means Going Back To Ancient Scandinavia -- To Custom And The Norse Myths
It Was Also The Plant Of Peace In Scandinavian Antiquity
If Enemies Met By Chance Beneath It In A Forest, They Laid Down Their Arms And Maintained A Truce Until The Next Day"
This Ancient Scandinavian Custom Led To Mistletoe Being A Symbol Of Love, Peace And Goodwill
It May Be That This Embrace Of Goodwill Among Enemies Eventually Led To The Traditional Kiss Under The Mistletoe
Some Cultures Say That If A Man Kisses A Woman While She Is Standing Under Mistletoe, It Is A Proposal Of Marriage!
Most Cultures Around The World However, Now Just View A Person Standing Under Mistletoe As Being Available For A Kiss!
The Norse God Balder Was The Best Loved Of All The Gods
His Mother Was Frigga
She Was The Goddess Of Love And Beauty
She Loved Her Son So Much That She Wanted To Make Sure No Harm Would Come To Him
So She Went Through The World, Securing Promises From Everything That Sprang From The Four Elements--Fire, Water, Air, And Earth--That They Would Not Harm Her Beloved Balder
Leave It To Loki, A Sly, Evil Spirit, To Find The Loophole
That Loophole Was Mistletoe
He Made An Arrow From The Mistletoe's Wood
To Make The Prank Nastier, He Took The Arrow To Hoder
Hoder Was Balder's Brother, Who Was Blind
Guiding Holder's Hand, Loki Directed The Arrow And Fired It At Balder's Heart And Balder Fell Dead
Frigga's Tears Became The Mistletoe's White Berries
In The Version Of The Story With A Happy Ending, Balder Is Restored To Life
Frigga Is So Grateful That She Reverses The Reputation Of The Offending Plant
She Makes It A Symbol Of Love
She Also Promises To Bestow A Kiss Upon Anyone Who Passes Under It
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