The "Should Mistletoe Be A Part Of The Christmas Season?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just about finished with the Christmas decorating and are headed to my lounge chair for a long awaited break.  We have all our presents wrapped, Christmas cards addressed and sent to their new homes, trees decorated and cookies baked.  Still have just a few more items to take care of and we will be ready for Christmas Day to arrive.  We will have twelve members of our family arriving on Christmas Day to open gifts and enjoy a Christmas dinner of ham with all the fixings as well as cookies and pie.  Being this is our first year in our new home, it will be interesting to see how everything works out.  Will we have enough space for everyone to sit?  Have we prepared enough food?  Do we have gifts for all whom will be here on Christmas Day?  And, the list goes on and on!  One thing we don't have, and have decided not to go out and purchase, is mistletoe.  

Mistletoe comes in both red and white colors

I know that to many people it is part of the holiday and a necessary part of the celebration.  But, it is something that we really don't understand why it is part of the Christmas holiday.  I know....it is nice to have some hung in the doorway so when guests enter, you have an excuse to give the person standing under it a kiss.   But, I really don't need a piece of mistletoe hanging in my doorway to allow me to give a kiss to the person entering the door.  All I have to do is grab the person and give them a big Christmas kiss, just like I do every year at this time of year.  I realize the mistletoe is one of the many Christmas holiday traditions that people enjoy, but do they understand why we hang mistletoe in doorways in the first place?  It was said that the Celtic Druids believed that mistletoe had secret powers including the ability to heal illnesses, protect against nightmares, and predict the future.  The Druids would collect the mistletoe during the summer and winter solstices to be used during the Christmas holidays.  They did so in order to use it to decorate their home with it.  Their tradition of mistletoe really had nothing to do with giving kisses to everyone.  That tradition began in Ancient Greece, during the festival of Saturnalia and later in marriage ceremonies.  Romans also used mistletoe to decorate their houses and temples in midwinter to please their gods.  A Nordic myth said that mistletoe was scared to Frigga, the goddess of love, but Loki, commonly known as the god of mischief, shot Frigga's son with a spear or arrow carved from mistletoe.  Frigga revived her son under the mistletoe tree and decreed that anyone who stands under the mistletoe tree deserves not only protection from death, but also a kiss.  Actually, the mistletoe plant contains toxic amines and can be more harmful than helpful.  So, it may be one of the things you don't want to hang in your house when Christmas arrives.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.