To kiss or not to kiss

To kiss or not to kiss that is the question.  The Mistletoe is out in full force and the guys are on the prowl.  I think the men are all competing to see how many of us they can kiss before the end of the year. It’s so not fair. I really hate this double standard. It’s ok for men to kiss all the girls, but it’s not ok for girls to kiss all the men.  Why are we the sluts and they are the studs?  Why do they get to have all the fun?  It’s so not fair. I love kissing. But, because of this double standard I am not allowed to indulge in kissing.  To add to it there is the who thing of “Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free?” I won’t go into details, just click here to read my previous blog post on that. So, for you girls that do decide to give out free kisses I suggest you play the game. Don’t kiss and tell. This way you can still get your grove on and you won’t acquire the reputation of a “kissing slut.”

For those of you that are curious to the history of mistletoe I did a little digging and found the following: Washington Irving, in "Christmas Eve," relates the typical festivities surrounding the Twelve Days of Christmas, including kissing under the mistletoe (Washington Irving, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent). Irving continues his Christmas passage with a footnote: "The mistletoe is still hung up in farm-houses and kitchens at Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases."

In today’s society we have conveniently forgotten the part about plucking the berries thus the kissing never stops.  And as for you girls that do choose to kiss under the mistletoe just remember that to the guys, a kiss is only a kiss. There is no contract involved and for the most part they will take what they can get. I know it’s not the most pleasant thought, but we’ve got to deal with reality and not get caught up in the moment. So if you do choose to kiss under the mistletoe, enjoy it for what it is, a kiss.

The history of kissing under mistletoe goes back to ancient Scandinavian customs and the Norse myths. "It was also the plant of peace in Scandinavian antiquity. If enemies met by chance beneath it in a forest, they laid down their arms and maintained a truce until the next day." This ancient Scandinavian custom led to the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe.