It's the season of goodwill, joy and hot strangers being contractually obliged to kiss you under festive greenery. You gotta love Christmas, right? The gifts and mulled wine are terrific, sure, but the best bit is easily the fun we have with mistletoe. We all know it's tradition to kiss someone beneath it, but did you know...
1) Mistletoe Can Run Out Of Batteries
That's right, mistletoe can run out of juice. The tradition was, if you wanted to kiss someone, you took a berry from the sprig and presented it to whomever it was you wanted to steal a kiss from. Once all of the berries were gone, its properties as a kissing contract were null and void.
2) They Don't Have Nargles...
Despite wizarding belief, sprigs of mistletoe do not have thieving little creatures hiding inside of them. Nargles were obviously made extinct hundreds of years ago, and despite what the wizarding tabloid headlines might tell you, you don't need to wear a Butterbeer cork necklace to keep them away.
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3) Mistletoe Can Be Hazardous To Your Pets
Mistletoe is actually toxic to dogs and cats (and horses). This information was discovered in 1924, when a young boy tried to encourage an unholy union between Mittens and Lucky.
4) Druids Thought It Was The Shit
Celtic druids believed that mistletoe had serious healing qualities. It was used for nullifying poisons in the blood but more commonly for combating infertility. This is where the association between the herb and kissing began. It was believed that if a maiden stood beneath the mistletoe, and refused to kiss a man, she would go an entire year without marriage. (Good excuse to get out of it, for any superstitious people out there).
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5) Mistletoe Can Explode
No, really, this is actually true. The seeds on a specific breed of mistletoe, called dwarf mistletoe, can explode at up to 50 mph, and can travel up to 50 feet. This is the primary method of spreading seeds in this species. And, although based largely on Internet rumour, it is believed that Dwarf mistletoe was used in all of the explosions in Independence Day and White House Down. When asked for comment on this, Roland Emmerich just shrugged and said "It was cheaper than dynamite".
6) It's A Dung Twig
Mistletoe is derived from the Greek words Anglo-Saxan words mistal (dung) and tan (twig). So, yeah.......you're making out under a dung twig.
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7) The Headless Horseman Liked It Before It Was Cool
Well, not exactly. Washington Irving, the author behind The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow (which the Headless Horseman featured in) was the one who brought mistletoe into the mainstream. He wrote a story about Christmas, mentioning how the maids would have to watch out for lecherous men beneath the mistletoe. Needless to say, every perv in America took up this tradition soon after. The world then followed suit.
8) You Have To Kiss Them On The Lips
Just in case there is any confusion, mistletoe doesn't mean a peck on the cheek. It means full on sucking the face off them. Be sure to let people know this, in writing, before you dive underneath the love berries.
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