A closer look
Celtic druids revered mistletoe as an incredibly sacred, mystical plant that could heal diseases, neutralize poisons, and grant fertility, performing elaborate rituals to harvest it from oak trees using a golden sickle before catching it in a white cloak; modern botany reveals that mistletoe is actually a highly toxic, parasitic plant that slowly sucks the nutrients out of its host tree and will absolutely cause severe vomiting and blurred vision if a human being actually decides to eat it, and the fact that we still hang a poisonous, tree-killing parasite in our doorways during the holidays and use it as an excuse to forcibly kiss people at awkward office parties really highlights how little our society has evolved from our weird, mystical pagan ancestors
