Mistletoe berries

It was a dark and gloomy day, but my flash didn't want to work, so I've got darker than normal pics.

Mistletoe figured prominently in Norse mythology (which some believe is the origin of the modern Western custom of kissing under bunches of it hung as holiday decorations). The god Baldur was killed with a weapon made of mistletoe. In previous times the tradition was that the couple took away a fruit each time until they were all used up and at this point the mistletoe lost its vitality. The appearance and nature of the fruit's content (viscin) is very similar or suggestive of human semen and this has strengthened its pagan connections. Mistletoe also bears fruit at the time of the Winter Solstice (the birth of the new year) and may have been used in a fertility rite in Ancient Britain. The fertility rite may be a more likely source of the 'kissing under the mistletoe' tradition which originated from Britain rather than Scandinavia. The tradition has spread throughout the English speaking world but is largely unknown in the rest of Europe.

In Celtic mythology and in Druid rituals, it was considered an antidote to poison, but it is now known that the fruits of many mistletoes are poisonous if ingested as they contain viscotoxins.

In Romanian traditions, mistletoe (vâsc in romanian) is considered as a source of good fortune. The medical and the supposed magical properties of the plant are still used, especially in rural areas. This custom is inherited from Dacians.

Mistletoe has sometimes been nick-named the "vampire plant" because it can probe beneath the tree bark to drain water and minerals, enabling it to survive during a drought (see vampirism). William Shakespeare gives it an unflattering reference in Titus Andronicus, Act II, Scene I: "Overcome with moss and baleful mistletoe"

Nowadays, mistletoe is commonly used as a Christmas decoration. Viscum album is used in Europe whereas Phoradendron serotinum is used in North America. According to a custom of Christmas cheer, any two people who meet under a hanging of mistletoe are obliged to kiss.

Mistletoe was the official flower for the State of Oklahoma until 2004 when it was replaced by the Oklahoma Rose. Mistletoe however still serves as the state's official floral emblem.

In a popular myth, confusing Mistletoe and the Holly 'holy' Tree, the most sacred tree of the Druids, it is alleged Mistletoe was cut with a gold sickle and it lost its power if it fell and touched the ground. The confusion arises from both plants being being green all year and both having colorful fruits as well as sharing similar history concerning the winter months.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistletoe