True or False: The mistletoe, a well-known symbol of love at Christmas, is poisonous.
Answer: True. According to Dictionary.com, it is “a European semiparasitic green shrub (Viscum album) having somewhat poisonous leaves, stems, and waxy-white glutinous berries that have been used in folk medicine.”
Custom has it that at Christmas time, you would hang a sprig of mistletoe over the doorway. A young lady standing under it cannot refuse to be kissed. Such a kiss could mean the start of a romance. If the girl is not kissed, she cannot expect not to marry the following year.
I don’t believe I’ve ever been kissed under a mistletoe. I have a great husband for 21 years. Maybe I’m missing something. Quick, someone get me some mistletoe.
There is a greek goddess type of legend associated with the mistletoe. I will write about it in my “Origin of Christmas” piece one day, hopefully before the 25th.