Janet Sumner Johnson
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mistletoe

Mistletoe: Really?

Dec

20, 2009 |

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I think it’s a rule that you have to include a mistletoe scene in every Christmas movie you make. In fact, I just watched Donald and Daisy kiss under the mistletoe. But I have to wonder, does it ever happen in real life? Does it take away my mystique to confess that I have never kissed anyone under the mistletoe? Okay, so I won’t confess, but you get my point.

You do get it . . . right?

So, in the spirit of polling (once you start, it’s hard to stop), I want to know if mistletoe is just a movie thing, or if it’s actually used in real life. Look to the right margin to vote.

And not to break a newly formed tradition, a bit of mistletoe trivia: While mistletoe can grow on its own, it is more often a parasitic plant (i.e. it preys on the good graces of other plants, usually trees). In Europe, mistletoe produces white, sticky berries which are “considered to be” poisonous (whatever that means). And last but not least, in Scandinavia, mistletoe was considered a “peace plant” and thus, spouses who had argued could kiss and make up under it. In medieval Eurpe, however, mistletoe was hung in doorways to ward off witches. What to make of that . . .

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