Mistletoe

   Mistletoe, a parasitic plant with its signature white berries has somehow managed to make itself an important part of our Christmas traditions. It has had an interesting journey on its way to its present positon. The plant has been used asa symbol of fertility, and as a good luck charm for a dairy herd. Mistletoe has done duty as an antidote for poison, a fire suppressant, a protection against evil spirits, a pain reliever for rheumatoid arthritis and as a gift of peace between warring neighbours. Today it is is hung over doorways to entice the exchange of a kiss.
   The history of its name is even more fun.The name is derived from the ancient belief that mistletoe was propagated from bird droppings. It was accepted wisdom in those days that life could spring spontaneously from dung. Mistletoe would often appear on a branch or twig where birds had left droppings. "Mistel" is one of the Anglo-Saxon words for "dung," and "tan" is "twig". So, mistletoe means "dung-on-a-twig". Not a name you might normally associate with romance, but nonetheless, today we hang it in a doorway and wait beneath it for a kiss. If you do kiss beneath the mistletoe, it can be deemed to mean anything from simply a little peck to a promise of marriage! I love the following poem about kissing 'neath the sprig.

Mistletoe

I did not know she'd take it so,
Or else I'd never dared:
Although the bliss was worth the blow,
I did not know she'd take it so.
She stood beneath the mistletoe
So long I thought she cared;
I did not know she'd take it so,
Or else I'd never dared.

Countee Cullen