Wednesday 7 December 2016

A Christmas Useless Fact

Or maybe it’s not such a useless one!  The practice of kissing under the mistletoe goes back to Norse mythology.  Traditionally a berry should be plucked for every kiss and when the berries run out no more kisses can be claimed.  A kissing ball of mistletoe was a popular household decoration in Britain in the 18th century and any girl standing underneath it could not refuse to be kissed but if she stood under it and remained unkissed it meant she would not be married in the next year.

4 comments:

  1. Mistletoe is a fun tradition with which to threaten young boys who don't yet like kissing!

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  2. Not useless! Especially if you're hoping for a proposal in the new year!

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  3. Surprising no one ever manufactured mistletoe belt buckles...

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  4. Only yesterday, I read that the Norse goddess Frigga and her gratitude for her son, risen after he'd been murdered, has something to do with the mistletoe.
    I didn't know about the berries! Nobody I know plucks them from the mistletoe - it just looks so much prettier with them on.

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