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 … Continue reading Kissing Boughs and Mistletoe