Growing atop trees, mistletoe seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere. However, by the fifth or sixth century, people had figured out that birds dropped the seeds. The common name comes from the Old Saxon mistel, which evolved into the Old English mistiltān (mistel meaning the plant and tān, “twig”). The word mistel was also used for a bird that fed on the berries and called the mistel-thrush. However, rather than meaning “bird twig,” most etymologist refer back to the Old High German mist, meaning “dung” and in Old Dutch, “bird lime.” So basically, the plant may have been known as “bird dung twig.” What’s love got to do with it?

According to Norse mythology, after the god Balder was slain with a branch of mistletoe and brought back to life, his mother the goddess Frigg declared that from that time forward mistletoe would be a plant for love, not death. This idea had staying power. In the past, it was believed that sweethearts who kissed under a sprig were destined to marry but only if the mistletoe was burned on Twelfth Night (January 6th). Mistletoe gathered at the summer solstice was used as a household amulet and hung above a doorway to ward-off mischievous spirits.

In the folklore of Germany, Austria, and Flanders, mistletoe grew where an elf had sat in a tree. According to legend, a person could see and talk to ghosts while holding a piece of mistletoe. In England, Wales, and France, it was regarded as a plant of good fortune. A sprig was hung in the home for a year and replaced with a fresh one at Yule.