Mistletoe is a plant that parasitizes other trees, but the first time it was noticed was in the movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, where mistletoe was conjured up by the House of Requirements, providing a plausible scene for Harry and his girlfriend's first kiss.
At that time, I was very surprised by their emotional line, why did this kiss seem to come naturally? After all, they were clearly not together at the time. I learned later that it was because of mistletoe.
I. The death of Badr
In Norse mythology, Badr, the god of light, was killed by the fire god Loki with a dart made of mistletoe. Friga's tears of grief dissolved the evil of mistletoe and saved her son. So she promised that whoever stood under the mistletoe would give him a kiss.
Bader is the god of spring in Norse mythology, son of Odin and Frega. He is handsome, with fair skin and long blonde hair that always shines brightly, and is a twin brother to the dark god "Hodel". Probably because he feels too good about himself and is afraid of being jealous, Bader always dreams that someone wants to hurt him, which can make the bad, what to do?
His mother, Frega, thought of a way to make all organic and inorganic things in the world swear that you would never harm you. In order to continue to eat in the Nine Realms, of course, everyone agreed with their mouths, but there is such a plant called mistletoe, everyone thinks it is too weak, how can it hurt a god?
Therefore, it was not forced to follow suit, which left a fatal hidden danger for the subsequent tragedy.
Loki, as a symbol of fire, can also represent light in some ways, but the gods favor Badr alone, which makes him a little uncomfortable. So Loki turned into an old woman to set Frega's words and learned about mistletoe. Then Loki tricked the blind dark god "Hodel" into throwing "Badr" with a mistletoe branch, but he did not expect that the branch turned into a sword in the air and killed the god of light.
"Hodel" did not intend to kill "Badr", although it himself was very remorseful, but Odin vowed not to kill you. But in Norse mythology, cannibalism is a taboo, so Odin can't do it himself, so he used his plan to have a relationship with the giantess Linda, gave birth to the god of nature "Wally", he landed as an adult, and just picked up a bow and arrow to kill "Hodel".
But in any case, the death of the god of light heralds the coming of eternal darkness, the long winter of the winter of Finmbull is roaring, and the climax of Norse mythology, "Ragnarok", officially begins.
Second, mistletoe kisses
People say that if two people kiss under mistletoe, they will get married; And the grudge of kissing under mistletoe will also be reconciled, which is a common concept in Britain and Americans during the reign of Queen Victoria in the 19th century. Over time, this myth also evolved into a Western Christmas tradition:
If a girl passes by or stands under the mistletoe, the boy next to her can walk over and kiss her.
As for why do you have to kiss under mistletoe? Let's think about it another way:
Mistletoe is a "semi-parasitic plant" that attaches to a tree or shrub through a connecting appendage called a "suctioner" and draws water and nutrients from the host through the parasitic roots. In this way, "kissing" and "mistletoe" are strongly related, because to some extent, mistletoe is basically "kissing" its host.
Of course, mistletoe is evergreen and has a very positive image in culture, often associated with romance, hope, fertility, so it is liked by many people, even overly liked.
Africans fight with mistletoe when they fight, which can avoid injury; The Austrians put it on the threshold and did not have nightmares; Residents of the Italian-Austrian border found it invisible; The Swedes even thought that the use of mistletoe branches would indicate the finding of gold veins ...
In Greek mythology, Aeneas took the mistletoe with him when he went to the underworld to protect himself and ensure a smooth return during his journey. The Druids believed that mistletoe was a sacred plant with great medicinal properties and mystical powers. This plant, which usually grows on host trees or shrubs, is rare in Gaul and even rarer on oak trees.
So when the combination of mistletoe and oak trees is discovered, the druids will sacrifice two white bulls and feast under the oak trees. One of the priests would climb a tree and pick up mistletoe to make a potion made from mistletoe. So they believe the agent can give birth to sterile animals and dissolve any toxins.
From myth back to reality, it may be because of this that there is a saying about mistletoe in Britain so far:
"No mistletoe, no happiness"
In ancient times on the mainland, there was no lack of traces of it, and this kind of mistletoe was called "Tsuki" in the Book of Poetry, and "Yumu" and "Wantong" in "Erya".
As in the Book of Poetry:
"Tsuki and the female rose, applied to the pine cypress.
I have not seen a gentleman, and I am worried;
Seeing the gentleman, he said a few things. ”
"Tsuki is a female rose, and it is given to pine and cypress", which means that brothers and relatives are attached to each other. Tsuki is mulberry parasitism, female rose is dodder seed, both are parasitic plants of pine and cypress. The shape of the luo is quite similar to the tsuki and the female luo, so the two names are combined to give it their name.
Therefore, the flower language of Tsui Luo is mutual care and support.