How Mistletoe Became a Christmas Kissing Tradition

The mistletoe plant has white berries, not red like the fake ones have. iStock The yuletide decorations are up: a trimmed tree, jolly stockings on the mantel and—wait, what’s that white-berried weed hanging from the ceiling? And why are people so amorous when they find themselves beneath it? Mistletoe, a parasitic plant, is actually accustomed to the suspension: In nature, it grows only on other trees’ branches.…