 For this month's makeup and mythology, I thought that we could discuss Mistletoe. Mistletoe has a fascinating history with traditions from Celtic, Norse, Roman, and many other cultures. Mistletoe has played a part, and what I find so interesting is how each tradition developed separately, but over time the story is united as one, and it became a symbol of love and peace, which, if you think about it, is truly beautiful. Now before we begin, if you don't mind this little interruption, if you're new here to the makeup chair channel and you enjoy makeup videos, then I might suggest clicking the subscribe button below and pressing the bell to get notifications. And if you're already subscribed, then thank you and welcome back. And this video is created as a way to relax. So once I have completed the story, I will repeat the story for those who like to fall asleep to my videos, or if you like to use videos as background sounds, this one's for you. Let's begin with the story of Mistletoe from the Norse culture. There are so many tellings of Mistletoe in Norse mythology, however my favorite story is turning hate into love. The story goes that Mistletoe was once used to create an arrow. When the goddess Frigg discovered her son had been hit with a Mistletoe arrow in the depths of her heartbreak and mourning, she cast a powerful magical spell across the earth. This spell ensured that no plant could be used as a weapon. It is also said that as she cried for her child, her tears turned to white berries, the white berries that are formed on Mistletoe. These berries healed her son, and the goddess was so overjoyed, she took her spell a step further, declaring that Mistletoe would be a symbol of love and vowed to plant a kiss on all those who passed beneath it. The goddess's sadness could have turned to hate. She could have cursed the plant, but she did not wish for more harm to be done. Sometimes it's easier to get angry than let ourselves feel sadness, to attack the things that we believe have caused us pain. But it was the goddess's tears that brought her peace, and she used that to spread even more love, turning a weapon into a symbol of peace, removing its power, turning sadness into love. It is believed that the Celtic Druids were among the first to use Mistletoe as a decoration. They didn't kiss under it. It was used as a symbol. The berries ripened in December and the plant remained green for much of the winter. And it was the fact that it remained green is the reason why it was so appealing in the wintertime. The greenery from branches and trees and Mistletoe represented life even in the darkest of winter days. It symbolized the hope for the sun to return and for new life to grow after the winter. The Druids also believed that Mistletoe had sacred powers, protecting against nightmares, healing illnesses, and even predicting the future. For the pagans, Mistletoe was considered a charm against evil. It actually held so much power in pagan ceremonies that Mistletoe was banned from Christian places of worship for a long time, until eventually being adopted by the Christians in a way to celebrate Christmas. It's evergreen leaves symbolizing life that does not end. Kissing underneath Mistletoe from all accounts originated from Norse mythology, but then it took on its own tradition. For instance, it's bad luck to refuse a kiss under Mistletoe. Similar to the Spanish tradition of toasting with an empty glass or a non-alcoholic drink, and that can result in any number of misfortunes, or in France and Germany where eye contact must be held while cheersing, or you will suffer the consequences. The idea of good and bad luck is a very human tradition. We love creating superstitions, like how a bird booping on you is a sign of good luck. Though personally I think it's just there to make you feel a little bit better about it. Funnily enough, bird pooping is actually how Mistletoe is believed to be spread. They consume the berries and then drop the seeds onto trees. It's actually where the word Mistletoe comes from. It derives from the Anglo-Saxon dialect, pretty much meaning poop-tree. The word for dung, mistle, and twig, tan, were mashed together to create mistletan or mistletoe. Eventually it became Mistletoe. So maybe there is something with this good and bad look and birds after all. Though from personal experience I did not feel very lucky when a bird pooped at me. In olden days, kissing under Mistletoe was even considered as a promise to marry. And if you wish to dream of your future love, you would sleep with a sprig of Mistletoe under your pillow, as Mistletoe was believed of magical properties. Which is likely the merging of the druid's belief that Mistletoe could predict the future, and the Norse connection of Mistletoe and love. Some women would even burn Mistletoe as a form of fortune telling. They'd watch the flames as they burned, and if the flames were steady, then it depicted a happy marriage in your future. And if it was spluttery, then it would indicate a bad turbulent marriage. During the Roman era, Mistletoe was actually a symbol of peace. Enemies would set aside their differences meet under Mistletoe, and if you've ever heard of the expression extending the olive branch, well Mistletoe played a fairly similar role. The Romans also decorated their houses and temples with Mistletoe in mid-summer to please their gods, which is very similar to how the Celtic druids used Mistletoe. Throughout all of these stories, the one thing that they all have in common is that Mistletoe symbolizes good. Either it's love, peace, healing, protection, it doesn't matter what gods you do or not worship, what country you're from, what culture you have. Across centuries, all of these stories of this one little plant have come together, mixing to create a symbol, taking all of the best parts and merging together so that everybody has a piece of their culture, of their story. There's no competing on who's right or wrong. Mistletoe is an example of what can be achieved when we all share our cultures and our beliefs and we all take the time to listen and to understand. It's amazing what a tiny little plant can do, and I believe that we can all learn a little from that. There are many tellings of Mistletoe in Norse mythology, however my favorite is the story of turning hate into love. The story goes that Mistletoe was once used to create an arrow. The goddess Frig discovered that her son had been hit with a Mistletoe arrow, and in the depths of her heartbreak, she cast a powerful spell across the earth. This spell ensured that no plant would be used as a weapon again. It is also said that as she cried for her child, her tears turned to whiteberries, the whiteberries that form on Mistletoe. These berries healed her son, and the goddess was so overjoyed, she took her spell a step further, declaring that all Mistletoe would now be a symbol of love, and vowed to plant a kiss on all those who passed beneath it. The goddess's sadness could have turned to hate, she could have cursed the plant, but she did not wish for more harm to be done. Sometimes it's easier to get angry than to let yourself feel sadness, to attack the things that cause us pain, but it was the goddess's tears that brought her peace, and she used that to spread even more love, turning a weapon into a symbol of peace, removing its power, turning sadness into love. It is believed that the Celtic Druids were among the first to use Mistletoe as a decoration. They didn't kiss under it. It was used as a symbol. The berries ripened in December, and the plant remained green for much of the winter, and it is the fact that it remained green that makes it so appealing in the wintertime. The greenery from branches and trees and Mistletoe represented that even in the darkest of winter days, the sun will return, and sometimes we all need a symbol of hope. The Druids also believed that Mistletoe had sacred powers, protecting against nightmares, healing illnesses, and even predicting the future. For the pagans, Mistletoe was considered a charm against evil. It held such power for paging ceremonies that Mistletoe was banned in Christian places of worship for a long time, until eventually being adopted by the Christians in order to celebrate Christmas. Its evergreen leaves symbolizing life that does not end. Kissing under Mistletoe, though, from all accounts originated from the Norse mythology, but then it took on its own tradition. In olden days, kissing under Mistletoe was even considered a promise of marriage. Or if you wish to dream of your future love, you would sleep with a sprake of Mistletoe under your pillow, as Mistletoe was believed to have magical properties, which is likely the merging of the Druids' belief that Mistletoe could predict the future and the Norse connection of Mistletoe and love. Some women would even burn Mistletoe as a form of fortune telling. They'd watch the flames as it burned, and if the flames were steady, it depicted a happy marriage in your future. But if it was to splutter, it would indicate a bad and turbulent marriage. If we then look at the Roman era, Mistletoe symbolized peace. Enemies would set aside their differences and meet under Mistletoe. If you've ever heard the expression extending an olive wrench, well Mistletoe played a very similar role to this. Romans also decorated their houses and temples with Mistletoe in mid-summer. This was to please their gods, but it's quite similar to how the Celtic Druids used Mistletoe. Throughout all of these stories, the one thing that they all have in common is that Mistletoe symbolizes good. It's either love, peace, healing, or protection. Doesn't matter what gods you do or do not worship, what country you are from, what culture you have. Across centuries, all the stories of this one little plant have come together, mixing to create a symbol, taking all the best parts, and merging together so that everybody has a piece of their culture, of their story. There's no competing on who is right or wrong. Mistletoe is an example of what can be achieved when we all share our cultures, our beliefs, when we all take the time to listen, to understand. It's amazing what one tiny little plant can do, and I believe that we can all learn from that.