Where did the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe come from?

Question

Was it started by someone who was hard up for a bit of Christmas love? Or did it begin with the mistletoe, which as we all know is renound for it's vouyeristic tendencies....

Answer 1

It actually was a pagan custom that passed over into the religious world. Also many people during pagan time were married under the mistletoe because of durability and strength of that plant. As a matter of fact many form of witch-craft used the mistletoe in their ceremonies. The ways that mistletoe's have be used over the years have changed a lot and but it is still considered a romantic gesture to be kissed under one............. No I did not get into the orgy's and other aspects that also took place under the mistletoe's but I am sure that you get the idea of what I am saying...................

Answer 2

Viscum album is used in Europe whereas Phoradendron serotinum is used in North America. According to custom, the mistletoe must not touch the ground between its cutting and its removal as the last of Christmas greens at Candlemas; it may remain hanging through the year, often to preserve the house from lightning or fire, until it was replaced the following Christmas Eve. The tradition spread throughout the English-speaking world but is largely unknown in the rest of Europe.Now the girl was even angrier with the guy because they had to walk back to the house by using their feet. The night came and they had to rest. They both sat by fire quietly without a sound. When the fire is started to drain away they had to put some more wood. While finding the wood both of them were arguing until they stopped and kissed each other on the lips, under the mistletoe. The next morning the guy announced that he will marry her and then the tradition of mistletoe continued all over the world.Frigg, a goddess, had a son, Baldr. Upon his birth,she cast a spell that prevented plants from harming Baldr. Unfortunately, she overlooked the mistletoe plant and a cunning god, Loki, tricked another god into killing Baldr with a spear of mistletoe. In time, the gods brought Baldr back to life and they proclaimed that mistletoe would symbolize love, rather than death. Therefore, people kissed under the mistletoe to obey the wishes of the gods.

Answer 3

Kissing under the mistletoe :
Kissing under the mistletoe is first found associated with the Greek festival of Saturnalia and later with primitive marriage rites. They probably originated from two beliefs. One belief was that it has power to bestow fertility. It was also believed that the dung from which the mistletoe would also possess "life-giving" power. In Scandinavia, mistletoe was considered a plant of peace, under which enemies could declare a truce or warring spouses kiss and make-up. Later, the eighteenth-century English credited with a certain magical appeal called a kissing ball. At Christmas time a young lady standing under a ball of mistletoe, brightly trimmed with evergreens, ribbons, and ornaments, cannot refuse to be kissed. Such a kiss could mean deep romance or lasting friendship and goodwill. If the girl remained unkissed, she cannot expect not to marry the following year. In some parts of England the Christmas mistletoe is burned on the twelfth night lest all the boys and girls who have kissed under it never marry. Whether we believe it or not, it always makes for fun and frolic at Christmas celebrations. Even if the pagan significance has been long forgotten, the custom of exchanging a kiss under the mistletoe can still be found in many European countries as well as in Canada. Thus if a couple in love exchanges a kiss under the mistletoe, it is interpreted as a promise to marry, as well as a prediction of happiness and long life. In France, the custom linked to mistletoe was reserved for New Year's Day: "Au gui l'An neuf" (Mistletoe for the New Year). Today, kisses can be exchanged under the mistletoe any time during the holiday season.

Answer 4

".........Chrishmas time.....Mistletoe n wine......."....remember Clieff Richard's song.......wow......

It is probably a remnant of an ancient fertility tradition, helped along by some British re-invention in the 18th and 19th centuries. The European mistletoe, as a parasitic plant growing on deciduous trees, can be seen as a symbol of the continuing 'life-force' (and vitality/fertility) of the tree through the winter.

The fertility image is completed by European mistletoe’s shape and form – the forking paired branches, paired leaves and berries full of white sticky juice hint of sexual imagery.

Whatever it may be, but i wish this beautiful tradition should be applicable in india tooo.......... L O L

Answer 5

The tradition comes form an old folklore.When marriages were done in sunflowers and rain.They gather mistletoe and spread jam and penut butter on leaves of gold and pink.This is tranposed and set into todays reality of kissing and smooching.
NUFF SAID

Answer 6

There's no simple answer to the question -- it's a mixture of Ancient Greek marriage customs, Pagan rituals (which associated the plant with fertility), and a little bit of fun in otherwise uptight Victorian England (when the tradition was "revived". See the following link:

http://landscaping.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=landscaping&cdn=homegarden&tm=10&gps=192_242_1020_572&f=10&su=p284.21.140.ip_p284.2.420.ip_&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//gardenline.usask.ca/misc/mistleto.html

Answer 7

Homely mistletoe merchants too shy and proud to write a personal ad.

Answer 8

Old pagan tradition