A sprig of mistletoe tied over the Christmas party dance floor or hanging in a doorway is generally taken as an excuse for people to pucker up. But where does the custom come from? It is mistletoe's properties that enable it to stay green in the winter, even when the tree has lost its leaves, that led both the Celts and Norse peoples to form myths about its special properties. The youthful god Balder was the son of powerful sorceress Frigga and her husband, Odin, chief of gods. One tale from Norse legends, which were told by pre-Christian Scandinavian people in the fifth and sixth centuries, explains its association with love. Why people kiss under the mistletoe