"The mistletoe is still hung up in farm-houses and kitchens at Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases."
The quote above is from 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent' by Washington Irving, published in the 1820s. It describes the act of kissing under the mistletoe, and is most possibly the first written account of it. For people like me who cannot 'get lucky' in ways to do with acts of lovemaking because of a list of future spouse must-have characteristics, skills and investments longer than Santa Clause's 'Nice or Naughty' list, one thing becomes our saviour during this particular holiday period, and that is the Mistletoe. It is customary for couples during Christmas time to kiss underneath a Mistletoe. From whence it began, not most know, however I write today in an attempt to inform those lacking the knowledge of the origins of this ingenious act.
Starting out as a mere Christmas decoration, some people claim that this lovely tradition began in Norse Mythology. Frigg the goddess had a son, Baldr, and at his birth Frigg had told all the plants to not hurt him, overlooking the Mistletoe. Then, the mischievous god Loki had tricked another God into murdering Baldr with a spear made out of Mistletoe. Baldr died, and of course, was eventually brought back to life, and so Frigg simply somehow told the Mistletoe to bring love instead of death. To commemorate Baldr's resurrection and to obey Frigg's decision, people began to kiss under the Mistletoe - perhaps even to protect themselves from the evil Loki.
Another theory claims that back in the age of the Babylonian-Assyrian Empire, outside of the temple for the goddess of beauty and love, there hung a Mistletoe. Single women would stand underneath it, waiting for single men to approach them. Once approached, they bonded - but did not kiss - beneath it. Back in these historical times, people believed that the Mistletoe had supernatural powers - that it ultimately promoted fertility, and its leaves were an aphrodisiac. These people had to get back to their homes before they could test out how fertile the Mistletoe had left them.
For this reason, Mistletoes were also a part of marriages. Couples would have them placed underneath their beds, and the Mistletoes would have to endure every squeak of the couples' springs for the rest of their lives, and all of the other noises which came with that. Soon after, England adopted this practice and young men and women would kiss beneath a Mistletoe, and pick a berry afterwards. After all the berries were picked, it would be bad luck to kiss beneath that certain Mistletoe. These kisses were not for an enjoyable time, though, they were kisses of serious commitment, and marriage had normally followed. If an innocent single man wondered underneath a Mistletoe and a crazy single woman had happened to be standing beneath it, that man would have had to work twice as much to ensure that she had a wedding ring and a rather exquisite new fur coat every three weeks. These men would have hoped that the Mistletoe was not bearing any berries.
This brings me to the reason as to why I write about the glorious Mistletoe today. I know I am not the first person to think of this, and I will not be one to carry it out seeing as I am only celebrating Christmas with direct relatives and the end result will prove disastrous and incestuous, however it can be a great tip for those celebrating Christmas time with randoms. Dress as an old English woman or man, depending on your preference, of course, and attach a fresh Mistletoe to a hat. Make sure, though, that is hangs well above your head so that chosen future spouses will literally not see what is coming to them. And a tip, purchase a wedding ring beforehand because the chances are that they will not agree to this entire prospect. This way, half of the work is done and they will most likely be with you for a while.
So now that you are aware of the origins of the Mistletoe and its ingeniousity, please use it to your utter advantage. Fear no fiend, kiss all at sight. You never know what could happen this special Christmas night!
References:
Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/]
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