Mistletoe

As Cbristmas draws nearer, people will gather and celebrate with parties and making merry. One of the traditions in the western world is for two people to meet under the mistletoe and kiss, thereby sealing their friendship and love for each other.

When I was young, I had no idea about this unique tradition. At least no girls ever said, that I can remember, "Doughnut! Get over here under the mistletoe with me!" In college, I vaguely remember being mistletoed, but I was under the influence of eggnogg at the time, and could even venture a guess at who she was. Since I have been married for all these years, there really has been no need for mistletoe, as Dorothy and I practice the custom everyday without it!

The idea of kissing under the mistletoe began with the druids almost 200 years before Christ. These pagans used the plant (which is a parasite by the way) in their fertility rites at the end of the winter solstice to hopefully bring them a good crop of youngsters later in the spring. They apparently did not know where babies come from, and used this highly poisonous plant as a symbol to get the gods to help them beget children. The plant has no roots, and remains green during winter, so they thought that it had magical powers.

When the Romans conquered the Celts, they believed that two enemies who met under the plant would drop their weapons and become friends. Thus, the idea of the mistletoe being a plant of peace came into being. According to legend, when Christ was cruicified, the tree they cut into his cross was the mistletoe tree, and when this happened, God made the plant shrivel down into a vine.

There are over 200 species of mistletoe and all are considered ok to kiss under. Should the kiss lead to more affectation, then one might want to find an oak, or something rather leafy to cover the act from children.

One last thing to consider...the word mistletoe is of Germanic origin. The word "mist" in ancient Germanic languages meant "Dung" (pooh) and the word "Tang" is branch. The two words together mean "Dung branch" because the seed is carried from place to place in Bird Dooh and sprouts right out of the side of a tree that has been defecated upon by a bird. Although unproven, the idea that two people kissing under the plant and getting involved in a relationship that sprouts and grows, is probably dung.

Have a good Christmas, and when you kiss someone under the mistletoe, you should consider if your intentions are true, or if you are just trying to make Mary.

Doughnut