Mistletoe

A while ago on a Facebook status update by Jason Isbell, he made a ribald crack about accessorizing with mistletoe. When I read his post then, maybe a week ago, I thought, "What's the deal with mistletoe anyway? Why mistletoe and kissing?"

Since I was lazy at that moment, I didn't follow up on my questions.

As I was surfing the InterWeb tonight, I came across a short article on Slate about the origin of using mistletoe during the holiday season. While I found the quotation from Dickens' Pickwick Papers to be creepy, the article relates some of the history behind the plant and its connection to the holidays.

In sum, blame the Celtic Druids and the Greeks and especially the concept of the "kissing ball" from 18th century Britain.

You can click HERE to read the article from Slate. But a more detailed explanation about the plant's significance is available by clicking HERE to read a Web article with a title that is poorly (not) punctuated: "Mistletoe its history, meaning and traditions." The latter concisely details the kissing ball and gives more info about the Druids.