Mistletoe - Is It Love During Christmas ?
Christmas and Romance... a very interesting and intriguing combination. But, you bet it happens and happens every year thanks to the ambiguous Mistletoe ! A lot of hearts are joined and cherished under neath the mistletoe and it all adds to the joy and fun of Christmas and the holiday season.
During the early times, before television and other technological advancements made themselves known to mankind, people made it a point to visit each other for company and fellowship, specially during the holidays. A common custom at Christmas was for the homemaker to place a sprig of mistletoe above the door frame or hang it from the ceiling of the home. But with the passage of time, people started using mistletoe in all aspects of Christmas celebrations, be it in the wreaths or home decorations or the decoration of the Christmas tree and gift wrapping.
But in spite of all these also, mistletoe has acquired a reputation of being mystical, magical and sacred. The ancient priests of Celtic England believed the Oak tree to be sacred and since mistletoe most often grew on oak trees, it was also considered to be sacred. The mistletoe was also considered to bestow fertility and life. It acquired a reputation of being both a protection against poison as well as an aphrodisiac. For it's supposedly mystical powers, mistletoe has played the pivotal role in many folklores. One such is associated with the Goddess Frigga and the story ends with a decree that who ever stands underneath the humble mistletoe, no harm would befall on them. Only a kiss as a token of love would come their way.
With the Celtic belief in the powers of the mistletoe, the Roman custom of kissing to seal a betrothal as well as the Christian custom of marriage, kissing under the mistletoe was once a serious commitment, not to be taken lightly. The result of combining the sacredness of the mistletoe with the use of the kiss culminated into the sanctity of a church wedding... of fertility, good fortune and a long and happy married life, sealed with a kiss.
Decking the halls with boughs of holly is absolutely the perfect thing to do for a Christmas decoration. But for some real holiday cheer, mistletoe wins hands down ! Nicknamed as holiday revelry, kissing under the mistletoe has been a 'fun' Christmas ritual for years. Though the pagan significance has been overshadowed by the 'fun' tag, the custom still goes strong.
Everyone knows about the power of mistletoe at Christmas, right ? The custom kind of legalized the spirit of holiday romance by making everyone kissable under this sprig... from friends, to strangers to distant cousins and most definitely that special person you have been eyeing, all year long ! Wander beneath beneath a sprig of mistletoe at a holiday party and like it or not, you become fair game for anyone within the kissable range. And even if you miss it out this year, you can definitely try your luck the year next !
Sean Carter writes on holidays,
Christmas Eve
and world events. He also writes on family, relationships, Christmas, religion, love and friendship. He is a writer with special interest in ecard industry and writes for
123greetings.com.
He is an active blogger at Christmas Blog
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