I always thought it was sort of a bastardization of the Gaelic mistletoe related traditions.
The plastic stuff most people hang in their houses doesn't look like mistletoe, either. Mistletoe is a green parasitic plant that fruits in the winter, making it look like a magical green bunch in the middle of an otherwise dead plant (the host tree).
Roethke said:
Upon wiki research (such rigour!) I'm told that the custom is from a Norse mythology.
Yeah I know the origins of the mistletoe having some kind of role come from Baldur, but the whole kissing under it thing never made any sense to me. Usually it's hung at home or at work - who's jumping at the bit to kiss their family / co-workers?
But I've kissed under the Skinny Bridge in Amsterdam, and legend has it that if you're on a boat sailing under that bridge, if you kiss your love you'll stay together forever. Yes, with my sailor.
when I worked at Trader Joes I made a hat with an extended rod that had a piece of that fake mistletoe attached to a string and I got lots of action from the customers. Other then that I haven't had any romantic experiences with it like you see in the movies.
Cockzombie said:
when I worked at Trader Joes I made a hat with an extended rod that had a piece of that fake mistletoe attached to a string and I got lots of action from the customers. Other then that I haven't had any romantic experiences with it like you see in the movies.
Mistletoe grows in abundance in the trees near my parent's home. One of my most romantic kisses ever was on a snowy, full moon night whilst taking a walk home from a Christmas party.
I apologize for the lack of snark. Apparently, I am human after all.
Lemonkid
Canada
May 2003
DEC 14, 2009 04:00 AM