The second in our series of "Christmas Explained" seeks to answer just why we have to lock lips, exchange spit, get slobbery under the mistletoe this time of year.

This one is a little bit more complicated than the stocking tradition. You have to go way back to the Druids and old Norse mythology.

Mistletoe has been viewed as a way to ward off evil spirits, and has been said to bring good luck. It is also a sign of love and friendship in Norse mythology.

The whole kissing part of tradition is thought to have started in England. Servants started out locking lips under the mistletoe, and then it spread to everyone else.

Originally, the custom was to pick a berry from the mistletoe. If you picked a berry, you could have your kiss. No berries? No kisses.

What a shame.

In our more modern, civilized times, mistletoe is now usually paraded around the office by that one dork that thinks it's funny to harass the ladies in accounting while wearing a goofy Santa hat. We all know that guy. Don't be that guy.

If you are that guy, just know we're rolling our eyes at you. At least use this to keep an appropriate amount of distance between yourself and others.

I've also never picked a berry from the mistletoe to get a kiss. I think this is because the mistletoe was fake, came from Walmart, and picking off a plastic berry would probably ruin the $1.99 that was spent on it.

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