Advent Tour: It Must Have Been the Mistletoe, or the best first kiss ever

The Virtual Advent Tour is an event hosted by Kailana from The Written World and Marg from Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. Each day in December until Christmas, a handful of bloggers will share something they love about Christmas. To keep track of the different bloggers each day, head to the Advent Tour Blog.

Before I launch into my personal Christmas memories, I am going to give you a crash course in mistletoe. The reason we kiss under mistletoe is explained by Norse mythology (I love mythology, and want to learn more about the Norse myths, so this was an exciting find for me!). Once upon a time, the god Baldr was shot with an arrow made of mistletoe by his blind brother Hoor (and how a blind man managed to kill someone with an arrow of mistletoe is beyond me, even if he is a god). Baldr's mother, Frigg, manages to save her son. After he is safe, she declares that henceforth mistletoe would do no harm and when people met under the mistletoe, they would kiss to show their goodwill.

I've always thought of mistletoe as a cute tradition. However, it became a very personal tradition when I began dating my husband. We had been friends for several months, slowly becoming interested in each other. One night when we were "studying," I ended up showing him my bucket list, a little notebook I kept in my backpack with different goals, both long and short term, that I want to accomplish in my life. Because the Christmas season was approaching, I had written, "Be kissed under mistletoe." When he read the list, I saw him smirk a little, but I didn't realize at that point that he was formulating a plan.

We had begun spending time one on one, going to dinner and performances and studying with each other late into the night (finals were approaching). He had taken my hand a few times, but had yet to kiss me. After a wonderful date one fine December 12 evening, I was sure that it was the night - but no kiss. He dropped me off with a hug and I changed into pajamas and washed off my makeup.

I have to interrupt this story to mention that The Husband's roommate had earlier been flaunting a package of live mistletoe he had found in the grocery store. Said roommate was very girl crazy and had his eye on his next target.

A few minutes after I got ready for bed, The Husband (then The Boyfriend) texted me, saying he had forgotten to give me something. I started to hope, but couldn't be sure. He knocked on the door. I looked up and saw the mistletoe taped to the doorjamb. "I wanted to help you out with your bucket list," he said, and kissed me. Then he tripped. It was cute.

So, now that The Boyfriend is The Husband and we are celebrating our first married Christmas together, we are making it a tradition in our home to hang mistletoe each year on December 12. I have always loved Christmas, but I love it even more now as it reminds me of falling in love with my best friend. It is a great reminder to be thankful for all the love I am blessed with, from family and friends to the blessing of the birth of Christ. I want to wish you a merry Christmas filled with love as well!

Also, check out the other stops on the advent tour for December 12 - Jane @Life @ Number 8,
Becky @ One Literature Nut, Michelle @ Galleysmith, and Miss Moppet @ The Misadventures of Moppet.