Christmas Tree

Every Christmas, lights, accompanied by dangling ornaments, glisten on the fresh branches of a spruce tree. A star shimmers on top. Presents are placed around the tree trunk and Santa Claus leaves behind some treats.

This is the most common vision of Christmas festivities, but in addition to the typical eggnog, carolers and candy canes, more unique cultural twists on holiday celebrations exist across the world. From pickles to present-filled shoes, old and new customs have combined to create a variety of Christmas traditions to make merry.

Today, many Germans hide a pickle-shaped ornament somewhere inside the Christmas tree. The pickle is the last ornament to be hung on the tree and must be hidden well. On Christmas morning, the child that finds it first will get an extra treat or present.

According to the Christmas Tree Farm Network, the tradition of Christmas trees originated in Germany, when St. Boniface began to associate fir trees with the Christian faith. After Queen Victoria of England married Prince Albert, the tradition of the Christmas tree was adopted in England and gained popularity.

“In my house, we hide the pickle every year,” said Stacey Albertson, a junior English major in the master of arts in teaching program. “We say the pickle will give good luck to whoever finds it, instead of a present.”

In the Greek culture, people did not always decorate the modern Christmas tree. In the past, a Greek family would have a Christmas ship in their home called a “karavaki.” Greeks also celebrate Christmas by making special foods. They make Christmas bread, similar to Easter bread, with nuts and dried fruit. The bread is usually saved to eat after mass on Christmas Eve or at the Christmas day feast.

Dana Gallagher, a junior sociology major said, “Kourabiedhes are my favorite Christmas cookies. They are powdered sugar covered butter cookies and my mom only makes them during the holiday.”

Italians also celebrate the holiday in a unique way. On Christmas Eve, they eat a large dinner consisting of seven fish. The seven fish represent the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. The Feast of the Seven Fishes usually includes calamari, scungilli, baccala, shrimp, clams with pasta, mussels and some type of salmon or trout.

“My grandfather is straight off the boat from Italy, so we always celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes,” said Marlaina Luciano, a senior media studies major. “It requires a lot of communication between family members because everyone has to bring a different type of fish.”

Some Christmas traditions are different in more ways than food. The French usually have a tree, but the Nativity scene is the most treasured Christmas symbol. French children leave their shoes next to the chimney. On Christmas morning, “ere Noel” (Santa Claus) fills them up with gifts. Presents are not placed under the tree.

Whether it is old or new, past or present, there are many traditions to coincide with the holiday season. With all the different ways to celebrate Christmas, there’s no better to adopt or create a new tradition for your family and add it this year.

Eiffel Tower

Christmas in France is a family holiday. The celebrations begin on December 5, which is St. Nicholas Eve. It is a day for gift-giving between friends and relatives. On that cold night, children leave their shoes by the hearth so Pere Noel, or Father Christmas, will fill them with gifts.

Christmas Eve is the most special time in the French celebration of Christmas. Church bells ring and voices sing French carols, called noels.

The family fasts all day, then everyone but the youngest children goes to midnight mass. The churches and cathedrals are beautifully lit, and most display a lovely antique creche. Afterward, the family returns home to a nighttime feast that is called le reveillon. The menu is different in the various regions of France. In Paris, it might be oysters and pate, while in Brittany, the traditional midnight supper is buckwheat cakes and sour cream.

A few days before Christmas, the family sets up a nativity scene, called a creche, on a little platform in a corner of the living room. Some families also decorate a Christmas tree with colorful stars, lights, and tinsel, but the creche is much more important.

The tradition in Provence, in the south of France, is to include, along with the Holy Family, the Three Kings, the shepherds, and the animals, delightful little figures from village life dressed in old-fashioned costumes. These figures might include a village mayor, a peasant, a gypsy, a drummer boy, and other colorful characters. Another tradition in Provence is for people to dress as shepherds and take part in a procession that circles the local church.

Father Christmas

To complete the elaborate creche in their home, children bring moss, stones, and evergreen branches for the finishing touches. When the candles are lit, the creche becomes the centerpiece of the Christmas celebration. The children gather around it to sing carols every night until Epiphany, on January 6.

Christmas plays and puppet shows are popular entertainments at Christmas, especially in Paris and Lyons. The shop windows of large department stores have wonderful displays of animated figures that families like to visit.

If any children did not leave their shoes out to be filled with gifts by Pere Noel on St. Nicholas Eve, they leave them out on Christmas Eve to be filled by Pere Noel or the Baby Jesus. Before going to bed, some families leave food and a candle burning, in case Mary passes by with the Christ Child. In homes that have a Christmas tree, Pere Noel hangs little toys, candies, and fruits on the tree’s branches for the sleeping children.

On Christmas Day, the family goes to church again and then enjoys another abundant feast of wonderful dishes, ending with the traditional buche de Noel, a rich buttercream-filled cake shaped and frosted to look like a Yule log.

On New Year’s, grown-ups visit their friends to exchange gifts with them and enjoy yet more feasting at the New Year’s reveillon. The family gathers together again for a final feast on Epiphany on January 6. They eat a special flat pastry, a galette, that has a tiny old-fashioned shoe, a very little china doll, or a bean baked in it. Whoever finds the prize in their serving gets to be King or Queen for the day. As church bells ring, the celebration of the Christmas season comes to an end.

Christmas Stockings

For many people who celebrate Christmas, the holiday is full of small traditions. Decorating the tree and hanging lights, wreaths and mistletoe are just a few of the seasonal visual clues that mark colder weather and a possible visit from Santa Claus.

Actually, the chances of Santa landing on your roof in his sleigh are pretty high - the big gamble, though, is whether or not he stuffs your Christmas stockings with presents or a shiny lump of coal.

Hanging stockings over the chimney is an integral part of Christmas, and these oversized stockings are reserved for smaller gifts like candy and action figures. But why do we hang stockings anyway, and how did the tradition start?

Although most countries have their own variations on Santa, the oldest reference to St. Nicholas goes as far back as the third century. The ancient town of Myra, located in what is now modern Turkey, is home to a shrine dedicated to Bishop Nicholas. Over several centuries, tales spread detailing the benevolence and generosity of Bishop Nicholas, and this is where the idea of St. Nick as gift-giver began.

One of the stories, it turns out, involves Nicholas passing by the homes of maidens too poor to afford a dowry - money that a bride gives to her groom for their wedding. The bishop would throw gold coins down the chimneys of these maidens, where they would fall into stockings, which were hung over the fire to dry.

Dutch children take part in another tradition - one that may have directly influenced the North American practice of hanging stockings. The children leave wooden shoes out by the fireplace, which are filled with hay for Sinterklaas’s horse (the Dutch version of Santa Claus not only has a different name, but a different mode of transportation). Santa replaces the hay with gifts, and it’s thought that Americans adapted this tradition sometime in the early 19th century.

The small number of Christians in China call Christmas Sheng Dan Jieh, which means Holy Birth Festival. They decorate their homes with evergreens, posters, and bright paper chains. The family puts up a Christmas tree, called “tree of light,” and decorates it with beautiful lanterns, flowers, and red paper chains that symbolize happiness. They cut out red pagodas to paste on the windows, and they light their houses with paper lanterns, too.

Many Chinese enjoy the fun and color that Christmas brings to the drab winter season. Big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong are gaily decorated at Christmas.

Many people give parties on Christmas Eve, and some people enjoy a big Christmas dinner at a restaurant. Shops sell plastic trees and Christmas decorations for everyone to enjoy, and Santa Claus is a popular good-luck figure. The Christmas season is ushered in with fireworks. Jugglers and acrobats entertain, and people enjoy the merriment and feasting. In Hong Kong, which recently was restored to Chinese rule, Christmas Day is just one of seventeen public holidays.

At this time of year, people in Hong Kong also celebrate Ta Chiu, a festival of peace and renewal, by making offerings to saints and reading the names of everyone who lives in the area.

On Christmas Eve, Christian children in China hang up their muslin stockings that are specially made so Dun Che Lao Ren, or “Christmas Old Man,” can fill them with wonderful gifts. Santa Claus may also be called Lan Khoong-Khoong, “Nice Old Father.”

The Chinese lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, begins in late January or early February. The celebration lasts for three days. While not part of Christmas, the New Year is the most important celebration of the year for the Chinese people. People travel long distances to be with their families. They decorate their homes with brightly colored banners. These banners carry messages of good wishes for the coming year.

Many people exchange gifts at the New Year. Following tradition, very expensive, special presents are given only to close family members. Token gifts are given to friends and distant relations. Children especially enjoy their gifts of new shoes and hats.

People put on new clothes for the New Year celebration. They prepare many special holiday dishes, and families come together at one house to enjoy them. The younger sons of the household serve dinner to the head of the household.

Chinese families turn out to watch the spectacular New Year’s fireworks displays and the exciting lion dance. Several performers dance inside an enormous costume. They make the “lion” walk, slither, glide, leap, and crouch along the street as it leads a colorful procession.

The greatest spectacle takes place at the Feast of the Lanterns, when everyone lights at least one lantern for the occasion. Other special events of the New Year include the Festival of the Dragons and the Fisherman’s Festival.

Throughout the three days of New Year’s celebrations, everyone speaks only cheerful words to each other so they will have good luck in the coming year.

You might think Christmas traditions in England would be very similar to those in America. Well, in some ways, they’re quite different.

Christmas Traditions in Spain

The Christmas season begins in Spain on December 8, with a weeklong observance of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Spanish families may travel to Seville, in the southwest, where the warm weather encourages flowers to bloom in December. In Seville’s great cathedral, they watch ten costumed boys perform an ancient dance called Los Seises to honor the Virgin Mary, the patron saint of Spain. In northern Spain, families decorate their balconies with colorful carpets, flags, and flowers. They burn candles all night in the windows.

Evergreens decorate the churches and outdoor markets throughout the Christmas season. Tambourines, gourd rattles, castanets, and miniature guitars are offered for sale to enliven the singing and dancing in the streets. Children go from house to house reciting verses or singing carols for sweets, toys, or small instruments.

Life-size nativity scenes called nacimientos are set up in public places, and every family has a small nacimiento in the best room in the house. In some villages, families send their sons to bring in a Yule log. As the boys tug the log home, they stop at homes along the way for chocolates and nuts.

Christmas Eve is La Noche Buena, the Blessed Night. When the first star shines in the evening sky, people light bonfires, called luminarias, in public squares and outside church walls. Traditional plays called Las Pastores depict the shepherds’ adoration of the Christ Child in Bethlehem.

At home, each family places a burning candle above the door and lights candles around the nacimiento. People fast all day and then go as a family to midnight mass. Then they return home to enjoy a feast of almond soup, roasted meat, baked red cabbage, and sweet potato or pumpkin.

Christmas Day is set aside for family reunions, when relatives get together for more feasting. The children sing and dance around the nacimiento. Family members exchange gifts, and friends and neighbors exchange holiday sweets. Some families add to the fun with the traditional Urn of Fate. Names are written on cards and placed in a bowl. Then two names are drawn at a time. Those two people will be friendly to each other throughout the coming year.

Children believe that on Epiphany Eve, January 5, the Three Kings travel through Spain on their way to Bethlehem. That night children set out their shoes filled with straw for the Three Kings’ camels. The Kings, passing in the night, fill the shoes with gifts. The next day, families enjoy a feast of almond soup, turkey, and roasted chestnuts. Sweets include a special nougat candy called turron and Kings’ cake. A small prize baked in the cake brings luck to the person who finds it.

In some villages on Epiphany, January 6, children march out to the city gates carrying special cakes for the Three Kings and other foods for their servants and camels. They are hoping to meet the Three Kings on their way to the Holy Land. Always disappointed in their hopes, the children eat the good things they have brought with them. Then they are directed by their parents to the nacimiento in the village church. There they find the Three Kings presenting gifts to the Christ Child in a manger.

The Christmas season ends at Epiphany with the “Cavalcade of the Kings,” a wonderful parade of the Three Kings and live animals.

Christmas Gift

Celebrating Christmas in England is much like celebrating it in any other Western country. Even though many of the cultures in England do not actually believe in what the holiday represents, everyone seems to take part in the giving and receiving of gifts, as a sign of friendship and goodwill toward others. With so many different cultures living so closely together, Christmas is the only time people tend to celebrate together.

It is cold and wet in England at Christmastime. Families welcome the warmth and cheer of a Yule log blazing on the hearth. They decorate their homes with holly, ivy, and other evergreens and hang a mistletoe “kissing bough.”

Throughout the holidays, carolers go from house to house at twilight ringing handbells and singing Christmas songs. “The Holly and the Ivy” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” are English favorites. People give the carolers treats, such as little pies filled with nuts and dried fruits.

The day before Christmas is very busy for families in England. They wrap presents, bake cookies, and hang stockings over the fireplace. Then everyone gathers around the tree as someone tells the favorite story, “A Christmas Carol.”

After hearing their favorite Christmas story, children write a letter to Santa Claus with their wishes. They toss their letter into the fire so their wishes can go up the chimney. After the children fall a sleep on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus comes to visit. He wears a long, red robe, carries a sack of toys, and arrives on his sleigh pulled by reindeer. He fills the children’s stockings with candies and small toys.

On Christmas Day, everyone sits down to the midday feast and finds a colorful Christmas cracker beside their dinner plate. A Christmas cracker is a paper-covered tube. When the end tabs are pulled, there is a loud crack. Out spills a paper hat to wear at dinner, small trinkets, and a riddle to read aloud to everyone at the table.

Christmas in England

The family enjoys a feast of turkey with chestnut stuffing, roast goose with currants, or roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Brussels sprouts are likely to be the vegetables. Best of all is the plum pudding topped with a sprig of holly. Brandy is poured over the plum pudding and set aflame. Then family members enjoy a dramatic show as it is carried into the dining room. Whoever finds the silver charm baked in their serving has good luck the following year. The wassail bowl, brimming with hot, spiced wine, tops off the day’s feast. It is said that all quarrels stop when people drink wassail.

After dinner, the family gathers in the living room to listen to the Queen of England deliver a message over radio and television. At teatime in the late afternoon, the beautifully decorated Christmas cake is served.

The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day. This day has nothing to do with fighting. Long ago, people filled church alms boxes with donations for the poor. Then on December 26, the boxes were distributed. Now people often use this day to give small gifts of money to the mail carrier, news vendor, and others who have helped them during the year.

Beginning on Boxing Day, families can enjoy stage performances called pantomimes. This activity originally meant a play without words, or actors who mimed or entertained without speaking. Pantomime now refers to all kinds of plays performed during the Christmas season. Such familiar children’s stories as “Cinderella” and “Peter Pan” delight young and old alike. In some towns, masked and costumed performers called mummers present plays or sing carols in the streets.

Christmas Fair at night, Nurnberg, Germany

Germany is home to many beautiful Christmas traditions. In fact, many of the American Christmas traditions originated there. The Christmas season in Germany starts at the beginning of Advent, which is four Sundays before Christmas Day. In fact, Advent wreaths are one of the many symbolic German Christmas traditions. These wreaths are decorated with four candles around the outer circle and with one large candle in the middle. The four outer candles symbolize the 4,000 years that the world had to wait for Christ’s coming. One candle is lit the first Sunday of Advent with two being lit the second Sunday and so on. The large candle in the center is lit on Christmas Day.

The Christmas tree, or Tannenbaum, has its roots in pre-Christian Germany. Religious rites were held in the forests and trees were decorated with candles. Like the Druids, the oak was sacred to the ancient Germans, in particular to the god Odin, so it was often the oaks that were lit and not the pines. The use of evergreens can be traced back to the 8th century, which is when St. Boniface engaged in the common practice of adopting local pagan customs to help Christianize the indigenous peoples. He substituted the fir tree (Tannenbaum) for the oak of Odin and then he dedicated it to Christ, making it the Christbaum.

The creation of the modern Christmas tree is often attributed to the founder of the Lutheran movement, Martin Luther (1483-1546). This is questionable but there are “Tannenbaum” songs that date back to the middle of the 16th century. By the 19th century the Christmas tree had become popular in Europe and America, having been introduced by German immigrants.

Candles, of course, were the original source of light on Christmas trees and although the Germans, Austrians, and Swiss are increasingly using electric lights on their trees, many a Christbaum is still lit with candles.

There is a Bavarian Christmas tree tradition that is known as the “Brides Tree.” This is where 12 ornaments are hung upon a tree to help bring good fortune to a newly married couple. The 12 ornaments symbolize the following: angel (God’s guidance), bird (joy), fish (Christ’s blessing), flower basket (good wishes), fruit basket (generosity), heart (true love), house (protection), pine cone (fruitfulness), rabbit (hope), rose (affection), Santa (goodwill), and teapot (hospitality).

The Christmas tree is not the only familiar Christmas symbol that comes from Germany. Santa Claus also had his origins there. When Germany was being Christianized in the early Middle Ages, St. Nicholas, a 4th century bishop of Asia Minor, became popular there. St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children and his feast day is December 6th. Gradually a custom grew up where on the eve of St. Nicholas’ feast day children would place their shoes or boots out for St. Nicholas to fill with candy and fruit, with the bad children getting twigs. St. Nicholas carried with him a book of sins with which he determined whether the child warranted the goodies or the twigs. Historically, St. Nicholas rode a white horse and he traveled with a dark-faced companion. The most common one was called Knecht Ruprecht. After the Protestant Reformation in Germany, German authorities wanted to do away with the image of a Catholic saint distributing gifts, so the idea of Santa Claus was born. Also created were the white beard, red suit, and sleigh. St. Nicholas is known by several names in different parts of Germany. These include Klaasbuur, Rauklas, Bullerklaas, and Sunnercla. In the eastern part of Germany, he is Ash Man, Shaggy Goat, or Rider. Our Kris Kringle is a corruption of the German term Christkindl (”Christ Child”). Saint Nicholas is now known primarily in Germany as Weihnachtsmann or Father Christmas. He increasingly doesn’t appear any longer on December 6th but on Christmas Eve instead.

According to one more German Christmas traditions a messenger is sent by baby Christ with a message on the Christmas Eve. This angel is called by the name of Christkind. He is an angel in white robes who is believed to look just like Christ. Another German Christmas tradition is of huge meals for commemorating the Christmas Eve. There is an interesting tradition associated with the Christmas Eve meals called as ‘Dickbauch’ according to which every one has to eat well on the Christmas Eve. Those who don’t eat well in these meals are believed to be haunted by the demons during the night.

Food and drink play a major role in the German Christmas celebration. In cities throughout Germany there are Christkindlesmarkts. In these Christmas markets one can enjoy all types of delicious Christmas edibles and beverages. Christmas goodies, from Lebkuchen (gingerbread) to Weihnachts Stollen (fruit bread) are plentiful. And the aroma of Glühwein (”glow wine”) a hot mulled wine that is drunk by adults and older children alike, fills the air. On Christmas Day most German families sit down and enjoy a plump roast goose for dinner.

January 6th is the day the three Kings came to visit the Christ Child. This is a holiday in Germany and it marks the end of the month and a half long Christmas celebration.

Though Christmas has been celebrated since the 4th century AD, the first known usage of any Christmastime greeting, “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year” (thus incorporating two greetings) was in an informal letter written by an English admiral in 1699. The same phrase appeared in the first Christmas card, produced in England in 1843.

“Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year” are words commonly heard during the holiday season and are often printed on Christmas cards and gift wrapping. Have you ever wondered why Merry Christmas, rather than Happy Christmas is used as a Christmas greeting?

Merry Christmas is a common phrase exchanged amongst Christians during the holidays. However, religions that have celebrations around Christmas time, like the Jewish Hanukkah, are more inclined to say “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas”.

The alternative “Happy Christmas” gained wide usage in the late 19th century, and is still common in the United Kingdom and Ireland. One reason may be the alternative meaning, still current there, of “merry” as “tipsy” or “drunk.” Queen Elizabeth II is said to prefer “Happy Christmas” for this reason. In American poet Clement Moore’s “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (1823), the final line, originally written as “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night,” has been changed in many editions to “Merry Christmas to all”, perhaps indicating the relative popularity of the phrases in the United States.

The term Christmas is a translation of the Old English version – Cristes Maesse which is the Mass of Christ.

Under modern day definitions of the word “merry” means gay, cheerful or festive. However, when the saying Merry Christmas first came about, the widely accepted meaning of the word was peaceful or blessed. Thus, wishing someone a Merry Christmas is truly wishing them a blessed or peaceful Mass of Christ.

Christmas, under that definition, is a Christian holiday set aside to celebrate the birth of Christ, the son of God and the savior. The Jewish faith does not view Jesus Christ as the son of God. The believe a savior is coming, the Messiah, but do not grasp the belief that Christ was the Messiah, thus they don’t celebrate Christmas as the Christians do.

Rather, they celebrate Hanukkah which some people call the Jewish Christmas although it is not similar to Christmas celebrations except that it falls into the holiday season. Hanukkah is a celebration of the rededication of the temple at Jerusalem and gaining of religious freedom to practice Judaism after a long-term occupation of the city.

Thus, while Christians bid you Merry Christmas, those of the Judaism faith will wish you Happy Holidays.

Making new Christmas traditions is a valuable way to cope with the first Christmas after the death of a loved one, or yif ou’ve just married into a new family. Creating new family traditions is also a good way to stay healthy at Christmas.

New Christmas Traditions: Christmas Volunteering

Volunteering at Christmas is an excellent new family tradition at Christmas. Investigate the “traditional” Christmas volunteering ideas: food banks, Meals on Wheels, Christmas hampers, etc.

Consider making Christmas volunteering a less traditional holiday tradition, such as making simple Christmas stockings with your family and delivering them to street kids or a youth shelter. A new Christmas family tradition could include visiting sick kids in the hospital or donating toys, books or needed items to the Ronald McDonald House or a women’s shelter. Always call first.

Christmas volunteering makes you feel good about yourself and your family – even if you’re grieving a death at Christmas.

New Christmas Traditions: Christmas Recipes

Creating Christmas traditions should ways involve food! Spend time with your kids, partner, parents or loved ones in the kitchen, baking Christmas cookies or decorating gingerbread houses. Pick a holiday recipe that you only make at Christmas – perhaps homemade candy canes will be your new holiday tradition – and invite friends and family to help make them.

New Christmas Traditions: Christmas Ornaments

New family traditions include making different Christmas ornaments from scratch every year, such as popsicle stick picture frames or popcorn wreaths. Christmas ornaments can become holiday traditions even if you add a new variation each year. For instance, put new family photos in Christmasy picture frames; every year, line them up on the mantle or bookcase. If you don’t have time to make Christmas ornaments but like this idea of creating new Christmas traditions, consider purchasing instead of making a new ornament every year.

New Christmas Traditions: Christmas Stories

Make your family story a new tradition at Christmas. Keep copies of your annual family Christmas card or letter, and read them out loud each Christmas. Or, read squo;Twas the Night Before Christmas or e Best Christmas Pageant Ever out loud to your kids the night or week before Christmas.

Holiday traditions are about you as a unique family, warts and all. Sometimes new Christmas traditions start by accident and continue unattended; other times, you have to deliberately implement your new Christmas traditions.

Either way, holiday traditions are a reassuring, fun, and healthy way to celebrate Christmas.

Mistletoe sprigs are decorations that inspire kissing during the holiday season. While meeting under the mistletoe can be sweet and romantic, it is interesting to explore the history behind the tradition.

Two words: parasite and dung. One today can hardly believe the association of these two words with something so romantically quaint as mistletoe is now in our Christmas traditions. So let the reader beware. What follows may cause you to reconsider a symbol of the season so lovingly cherished by many.

The common name of the plant comes from the ancient belief that mistletoe propagated from bird droppings. In ancient times it was a widely accepted principle that life could spring spontaneously from dung. “Mistel” is an Anglo Saxon word for “dung” and “tan” is the word for twig. Thus, the translation for the word today is the decidedly unromantic “dung-on-a-twig”.

In the Middle Ages, branches of mistletoe were hung from ceilings to ward off evil sprits. It was placed over entrances to homes and doorways to stables to prevent witches from entering. It was even believed that mistletoe could extinguish fire.

In some areas of England, farmers would give the Christmas bunch of mistletoe to the first cow that calved in the New Year, thinking it would bring fertility and luck to the entire herd in the coming year.

Mistletoe has always been symbolic of peace and love. In Scandinavia, mistletoe was considered a plant of peace, under which enemies could declare a truce or warring spouses kiss and make-up. The Greek festival of Saturnalia featured kissing under the mistletoe and it was included as part of marriage rites in ancient times to bless a couple with fertility.

In some parts of England the Christmas mistletoe is burned on the night of the 12th Day of Christmas, lest all the boys and girls who have kissed under it never marry.

Mistletoe, like holly, is a Christmas decorating tradition that has been scrutinized and has been the center of controversy from time to time.

In some cultures the mistletoe was symbolic of peace, love and goodwill. The modern day tradition of kissing under the mistletoe stems from Norse mythology whereby a Norse goddess declared mistletoe as a sacred plant to symbolize love rather than death which, as the myth goes, it previously stood for. Being a symbol of love kissing under the mistletoe naturally became a tradition.

Thus, the origin of traditions involving mistletoe can be good or bad depending on personal perception and personal convictions. However, in this day and age the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is a fun and festive holiday tradition without much concern for the controversy surrounding previous ritualistic attributes.

A single sprig of mistletoe is often placed in the center of a room or over a door facing during the Christmas season and usually has a ribbon or a bow accompanying it. Sometimes mistletoe is made into a wreath or a ball and used as Christmas decor.

Mistletoe is also a nice addition for decorating Christmas gift packages.

And for those who wish to observe the correct etiquette: a man should pluck a berry when he kisses a woman under the mistletoe, and when the last berry is gone, there should be no more kissing!