Meet me under the mistletoe
The mistletoe is essential in many Christmas carols and Christmas scenes in movies. Both Harry Potter from the famous film series and Patrick Bateman from American Psycho enjoy romantic encounters on the movie screen thanks to this plant.
But let’s not forget Justin Bieber either, who released a Christmas song in which he sings about standing under a mistletoe waiting for his lover. The tradition of mistletoe is centuries old, but how did it actually originate?
In Victorian England, there were many rules regarding dating, making it difficult for young couples to build a romantic relationship. But the tradition of the mistletoe made it easier for a gentleman to court a lady. During the holiday season the top of a tree was hung from the ceiling as a reminder of the Holy Trinity. It was traditional to hand out kisses and hugs below. Over time, this ornament evolved into a hoop or sphere decorated with branches, herbs, fruit, ribbons, candles and, of course mistletoe! This decoration provided a free pass for young couples to kiss each other, and they indeed took advantage of this opportunity regularly. Eventually, this decoration changed again to the bound mistletoe as we know it today. At that time people preferred branches with as many berries as possible, because every berry picked meant a kiss to your beloved.
Nowadays, we no longer stick to this ritual so strictly, but romantic scenes in movies always remind us of it anyway. If you ask us, it is time to revive this tradition, so where will you hang the mistletoe this year?