Kissing Boughs and Mistletoe
November 30, 1812 Public Domain
Did Jane Austen hang mistletoe for the Yuletide season?
On Christmas Eve, decorations and greenery were put up throughout the house—not before as that was bad luck. Traditional greenery included holly, ivy, rosemary, evergreen, hawthorn and, bay leaf, laurel, and hellebore (Christmas rose). Boughs, garlands and sprigs decorated windows, tables, mantles and stairways with the scents and colors of the season.
For those who could not go out and cut their own, greenery could be purchased for the season. The greenery remained in place until Twelfth Night, also called Epiphany, when they were removed and burned lest they bring bad luck to the house.
Kissing boughs and balls
Christmas trees as we know them today were not entirely unknown, but they were not typically found in Regency homes, but its predecessor did. The precursor to the Christmas tree was an ornament made from a cut tree top, blessed by a local priest and hung upside down as a reminder of the Holy Trinity and as a symbol of peace and love. Kisses and embraces under the bough were common. Overtime, these ornaments were made of evergreen branches woven into hoops or spheres and adorned with images of Christ. Eventually fruit, nuts, ribbons and other ornaments, including mistletoe were added. (Austenonly, 2009)
Some said these kissing boughs were made of ivy (to symbolize women), prickly holly (to represent men) and mistletoe (to give young men an excuse to claim a kiss!) (Marlowe, 2010) The bough would be hung where family and guests were certain to walk under it, providing ample opportunities to hug and kiss beneath it. (Kissing bough, 2009) Oftentimes though, these particular decorations were relegated below the stairs, considered inappropriate for proper company.
A kissing bough or ball wasn’t necessary to claim a kiss, though, a bit of mistletoe one its own would turn the trick. Oftentimes simple mistletoe sprigs decorated chandeliers, doorways, and ceilings through the home.
Kissing under Mistletoe
The custom of kissing under the mistletoe appears to be a British invention. When and how it came into common practice isn’t exactly clear, but the eighteenth century seems to be a good guess. (Mistletoe, 2010)
Not surprisingly, contradictory beliefs and customs surrounding mistletoe developed. According to one, each time a boy kissed a girl under the mistletoe, he must pluck one berries. When no berries remained, no more kissing could occur under that branch and it would be taken down for the year.
But it didn’t end there. Some maintained that if a girl wasn’t kissed under the mistletoe by the time the kissing bough was taken down, she would not marry in the following year. Others claimed that refusing a kiss under the mistletoe consigned one to that same fate. Others declared that no marriage al all was a possible fate after such an offense.
Another belief suggested that failing to burn the mistletoe after Twelfth Night might mean that the boys and girls who kissed under them would never marry. Some advised that a sprig of mistletoe should be kept to drive evil away from the house in the coming year. The sprig might also be used to light the fire under next year’s Christmas pudding, but exactly why, I haven’t been able to suss out. (Mistletoe, 2010)
I have an artificial mistletoe bough that I hang in one of our doorways. My husband never looks up or he selectively ignores it. I think it is his idea of a joke. **snicker** I didn’t find it this year. Maybe he threw it away. I doubt it. I didn’t open all the boxes this time. We have downsized a bit. I put up a much smaller tree this time. Blessings, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
WE can’t have real mistletoe with all the animals and small children in the house as it is poisonous. But I’ve got plenty of pretties up in the house to make up for it!
Coming late to this conversation as I get so many e-mailed blogs and got so far behind when I was in the hospital for 30 days that they stacked up. I am making an effort this new year to read those. We have never hung mistletoe and I don’t know anyone of my family or acquaintances who do. I don’t have anything against that custom but it is just not our tradition. Thanks for sharing. Hope you and all here have a great new year.
I hope you are feeling much better now!