Did you ever kiss beneath mistletoe? If so, you touched tradition older than the birth of Christ. Historically, there are two theories about how mistletoe came to be a plant used to encourage kissing.

Running away from over-friendly house guests wielding mistletoe is one of the great traditions of Christmas in England. But what makes this seasonal sprig so special, and why do people insist on ...

Few folks think about mistletoe until Christmas, when we buy a sprig to hang in a doorway so anyone who walks beneath gets a kiss. Mistletoe is a parasitic shrub that draws water and minerals from a ...

The plant mistletoe has been associated with Christmas and kissing. Where did this tradition originate, and what is mistletoe? Mistletoe is a plant with pointy, green, leathery leaves, with waxy ...

Show me a sprig of mistletoe hanging at a holiday party and I'll show you at least one person who cracks jokes about stealing kisses from fellow revelers. Everyone knows it's tradition to smooch under ...

It’s about that time of year to hang some mistletoe and steal a kiss. This kissing tradition dates to 16th-century England. Mistletoe also has pre-Christian ties to Greek mythology and Norse legends.

Stealing a smooch under the mistletoe is a time-honored holiday tradition — but the word itself has an origin that invokes the exact opposite of romance. As part of NPR's "Word of the Week" series, we ...

Do people kiss beneath the mistletoe to keep their minds off the plant itself? I ask this because if you were to get to know this white-berried shrub, love and joy might not be the upwelling emotions.