Try a Little Sincerity
Dec 21st, 2009 by Hazel
As I was saying, I enjoy trying to find out how our many holiday traditions got started; but each one has so many conflicting versions, that it can be difficult to pinpoint its exact origin. Still, they’re all pretty entertaining.
Kissing under the mistletoe, for example, is a strange one. As one story goes, in ancient Scandinavia, it was a plant of peace; so, if enemies happened to meet under it in the forest, they would put down their arms and observe a truce until the next day.
Somehow, over time, that led to kissing beneath it. The thing is that, according to legend, men supposedly had license to kiss women who were standing under it. BUT (and, as you can see, that’s a big but), afterward, they would pluck a berry from the mistletoe, and when the berries were gone, it was, well, all kissed-out, I guess, and the privilege existed no more.
However, like every tradition, it apparently kept on changing, and the berry-plucking eventually ceased. Of course, although it’s no mystery why men would want to do away with the part that would deprive them of their rights to further kisses, I don’t know whether it was a blatant disregard of convention that caused the modification, or the simple fact that most mistletoe found in homes today is plastic.
See? That’s the even-funnier thing about trying to solve an ancient puzzle; the more pieces you find, the more puzzling it becomes. In the first place, I can’t imagine what possible good a one-day truce would do anybody, except that, maybe, it gave one party the chance to run away (and live to fight another day!) under cover of darkness. Otherwise, it seems to be a hollow gesture – kind of like a meaningless kiss.
At CedarStore.com, we prefer more solid traditions; and that’s why most of our wood furniture is still hand-crafted in true, Old World style. This includes our beautiful oak and cherry jewelry chests, jewelry boxes, armoires, silverware boxes, and cedar chests, which make great gifts, not only for Christmas, but for any occasion. In fact, by giving one, you may start a whole new tradition, as it may end up being passed down for generations.
All in all, I’d say that’s much more enduring and meaningful than an insincere kiss under a plastic plant!
Yours Outdoors,
Kathy
