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My mother always had mistletoe hanging in the house at
Christmas, and I have to admit, it’s been years since I purchased any. I might
have to change that this year. We've probably all heard of a kid that ate a
berry or two and didn’t die, and birds do eat the berries—yet the plant is poisonous,
so do be cautious of it around animals and children. There are several
varieties, and all should be treated with respect, though not avoided. Handling
it is fine. It’s digestion of the leaves themselves that is harmful—from what I
read.
Here’s a bit more about mistletoe.
It is a parasite plant that needs another plant to grow,
often times a tree due to the fact birds love Mistletoe berries and after
eating them usual fly ‘home’ to sit on a tree branch, where they leave
droppings that contain seeds. Within six weeks those seeds can become a plant,
however it will take five years before it blooms, which can be a variety of
colors, from red to yellow and green, with either white or red waxy berries.
Mistletoe is easy to spot in winter because its leathery leaves stay green.
Mistletoe has been claimed to be many things: magical, can
heal wounds, increase fertility, ward off evil spirits, bring good luck, an aphrodisiac,
and a symbol of peace.
It even has its own etiquette—A man is to remove a berry
after kissing a women. When all the berries are gone, there is no more kissing
under that plant.
A few myths: Married couples who kiss under the
mistletoe are assured good luck, those who refuse- bad luck, and a maiden who
isn’t kissed under the mistletoe will remain single for another year.
A maiden who places a sprig of mistletoe under her pillow
will dream of her Prince Charming. Also burning
a sprig of mistletoe will foresee a woman’s happiness. A full flames means a
happy, long lasting marriage, a smoldering weak flame means she’ll marry a fool.
It’s also just fun, which is how I used it in Christmas
with Her Cowboy, a story in the Christmas Cowboy Kisses anthology.
A short mistletoe snippet from Anna and Tanner's story:
Whatever
medicine the Doc brought home for Lamont Key’s son must have worked, because
the kid was at the party, too. He and a couple other boys his age, fifteen or
so, were running around with sprigs of green, claiming it was mistletoe and
holding it over people’s heads. Kent Key held it over Anna’s head right now,
and she was laughing.
She and John
stopped dancing and after nodding to the crowd, Anna puckered her lips for John
to kiss.
Tanner’s jaw
twitched as he watched the man take Anna’s shoulders and kiss her, longer than
necessary. The crowd whooped and clapped as they broke apart, and Tanner
considered turning away when Anna’s eyes found his. Instead, he held her gaze
for a moment, wishing he could read her mind. Guilt at kissing her, the way he
had yesterday was playing havoc inside him, and mixed with the desires now closer
to the surface. He was about as twisted as he’d ever been.
A commotion
surrounding him pulled his eyes away and he found Kent holding the sprig over
Rosalie’s head. She’d already closed her eyes and pursed her lips much like
Anna had done for John.
As much as he
didn’t want to, Tanner couldn’t not kiss her, so he leaned forward and placed a
tiny peck on her lips.
The crowd groaned
with disappointment, and John, still beaming and receiving pats on his back for
the way he’d kissed Anna, yelled, “You call that a kiss?”
That didn’t get to him as much as how Anna
slapped John on the front of his shoulder. Tanner gestured for Kent to hold the
sprig over Rosalie’s head again, and this time, he took her in both arms. Bending
her over backwards, he kissed her until the crowd cheered.
“Oh, my,”
Rosalie muttered when he stood her on her feet again.
The crowd
cheered again. The kiss had done nothing for Tanner, not like the one in the
barn last night. When he lifted his head, already regretting what he’d just
done, he expected a glare from Anna, but all he saw was the back of her green dress
as she left the room.
Merry Christmas to all!
