DEC 14 WHY DO WE KISS UNDER THE MISTLETOE?

DEC 14  WHY DO WE KISS UNDER THE MISTLETOE?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! It's the time of year when tradition makes us do things we would never do in any other month than December. We place trees inside the house. We hang socks near the fire. We wait for a magic man to slide down the chimney. Sure, we all do these activities, but have you ever wondered HOW these traditions started? Of course you do! That's why you read the DUNER BLOG. So let's tackle one of yuletide's quirkiest rituals: Kissing under the mistletoe.

First, let's examine the plant itself. Mistletoe is a parasitic species, meaning it depends on another plant for survival. Botanists have identified around 1,500 different types of mistletoe, found on six continents. What makes mistletoe unique is its ability to stay green year round. That's because it's not dependent on rainfall or good soil like other plants. It just steals nutrients and water from the host tree. In fact, its scientific name is Phoradendron, which is Greek for "thief of the tree." It's toxic to humans, but birds love it. They are the ones who spread the seeds from tree to tree.

However, it's Norse Mythology...not the Greeks...who gave mistletoe its notoriety. See, the goddess Frigg was a helicopter parent. She was sooo worried her son Baldur would harm himself in the cruel world outside, she cast a magic spell: Nothing that grew out of the earth could do him harm. Loki, the scheming evil deity, knew that mistletoe grew on trees, not in the ground. So he made an arrow from its sap and shot Baldur dead. When Frigg came upon him, her tears became the white berries on the mistletoe. Since she is the goddess of love, the plant gained an amorous reputation.

It wasn't until Victorian times when the tradition of kissing began. Bored servants are responsible for this. They decorated doorways with mistletoe for Christmas. Knowing the plant's romantic background, they came up with the game that a man must kiss whichever female was next to him when standing underneath. (Also, it's bad luck for a lass to refuse the gesture.) A print from 1795 showing "Saucy Joe" stealing a smooch from "Bridget the Cook" is the earliest known reference to the notion. Naturally, Charles Dickens is credited for the tradition's mass popularity. A couple ceremoniously kiss in The Pickwick Papers, written in 1837.

So there you have it! A Norse legend mixed in with a bit of Victorian nuttery equals a worldwide holiday tradition. Yet one has to wonder: In today's current, hyper-sensitive gender-equity world...how much longer will this sexist holiday tradition last? Let's face it: You can no longer pinch people for not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day. Valentine's Day card sales are plummeting. However, there is still some hope for sentimentalists: The current counter-outrage to radio stations banning the suggestive Christmas carol "Baby, It's Cold Outside."  So this holiday season, go ahead and try to steal a kiss under the old mistletoe. It could be your last chance!