Etiquette Tips for Kissing Under the Mistletoe

Mistletoe is as much of a holiday symbol as Christmas trees. A pagan symbol, the mistletoe are beautiful plants with pearly white berries, and velvety green leaves,whose glossy white berries are poisonous. Known for its fertility, the mistletoe is also a parasitic plant whose growth is due to its habit of feeding off other trees. It is the mistletoe's outer beauty, and the underlying facts concerning the plant that brings me to kissing under the mistletoe and etiquette.

Although kissing under the mistletoe has become a popular tradition in America, in some circumstances it might not be always appropriate. Kissing under the mistletoe etiquette in folklore, according to Decking The Halls by Linda Allen, says that gentleman should pluck a white berry off the mistletoe while kissing a lady on her cheek, and that one kiss is allowed for each berry. Once the last berry is gone all kissing should stop

Also that a successful kiss under the mistletoe is said to result in marriage, but that girls who refuse to be kissed under the mistletoe will become old maids.

But that is folklore and this is the twentieth first century, so how to handle the playful kissing that is attributed to the mistletoe in an office or party environment, and in a way that no one will feel insulted or harassed?

For some the mistletoe might be a way to express affection that they would have been hesitant to do otherwise. Yet, if you are a person who neither is inclined to be kissed, one way to combat the problem is to simply make sure to never walk under the mistletoe. Or if you do not want to be seen as not having the holiday spirit, or as the office Scrounge, another suggestion is to set boundaries. If an office worker permits their co-worker to kiss them, set some guidelines, ones that will make them feel more comfortable. Another suggestion, is that make sure to tell everyone in the office that you are not interested in being kissed under the mistletoe.

Another suggestion would be if, in a professional environment, it is decided to put up a mistletoe, only do so at the office holiday party, and never in the office where workers need to behave in a professional manner.