Two centuries before Christ’s birth, the Druids celebrated the winter solstice with mistletoe because it enhanced fertility and was a favorite of the gods.
The Romans hung it prominently during orgies, which is how it became associated with kissing and also why the church banned it in the fourth century.
The name mistletoe is from the Germanic word “mista”, meaning “manure” or “dung,” because the plant grows out of oak trees well-fertilized by bird droppings.
