Mistletoe...
The magic happens...
Frigga, queen of the Aesir gods, wife of Odin, loved all
her children; but most of all she loved her son Baldur, called the
Beautiful, god of vegetation and the Sun. So great was her love for
him that she went through the whole world and made every thing
promise that it would never harm Baldur. She exacted the promise
from stones and wind, from plants and animals, from fire and water,
and all promised faithfully never to harm Baldur the Beautiful.But
when Frigga came to the little mistletoe, she saw that it was small
and weak and did not make it promise. Then the queen of the gods
returned to Asgard to share her news with the Aesir.When the gods
heard this, they created a new game. Baldur would stand in front of
them and they would hurl spears and stones, axes and all manner of
weapons at him. But because of their promise, all the weapons
bounced back or turned aside.Now when wicked Loki, the trickster god,
heard of this, he was angry and sought some way to undo the magic Frigga had woven. He came to her one day, disguised as an old woman, and sought speech
with her.“And is it true,” he asked, ” that you exacted
a promise from everything in the world never to harm
your son Balder?”“It is true,” Frigga said. “Oh – I did
not ask the mistletoe to promise; but it is so small and
weak, it could not harm anyone.”So Loki left and came
to where the mistletoe was and saw that it had grown
hardy and strong. He fashioned a short spear from it and
with this he came to where the gods were playing their
new game. He came to the blind god Hod and said,
“Honored sir, why do you not join in the game?”
“Gladly would I show honor to Baldur,” Hod said,
“but I have no weapon, and I cannot see to aim.”
“I will help you,” Loki said. “Here is a weapon,
and I will guide your aim.”So Hod threw the mistletoe
spear; but instead of falling short, it pierced Baldur
through and through, and he fell dead upon
the spot.The Aesir seized Hod, but wicked Loki had
vanished; and the tale of how he was caught and
punished is not a fit subject for Yule.In one version
of the story, Baldur was restored to life, though
he had to spend part of each year in Hel’s kingdom.
We call that time of year Winter now.When Frigga’s son was restored
to her, Frigga decreed that from that day forward, mistletoe would
nevermore bring death into the world, but only life. And that is why
couples kiss beneath the mistletoe at this time of the year, to
celebrate Baldur’s resurrection.