The 25 Strangest days of Christmas Day 11 - “The Christmas Parlour Games That Could Get You Arrested”

0:00 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to the Strange History Podcast and

0:03 Speaker 1: day eleven of our Victorian Christmas countdown the twenty five

0:07 Speaker 1: Strangest Days of Christmas. Today we discuss a plant that

0:12 Speaker 1: has caused more awkward holiday moments than poorly chosen secret

0:16 Speaker 1: Santa gifts. Mistletoe. In the Victorian era, missletoe wasn't just

0:22 Speaker 1: a plant. It was a sanctioned flirting opportunity. A gentleman

0:26 Speaker 1: could take a kiss from a lady beneath the missletoe

0:30 Speaker 1: if and only if there were berries left on the sprig.

0:35 Speaker 1: Each kiss required plucking one berry. When the berries were gone,

0:39 Speaker 1: no more kissing. This turned mistletoe into a kind of

0:44 Speaker 1: romantic rationing system, but not everyone approved. The London Times

0:49 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty two published a complaint from a missus

0:52 Speaker 1: h of Kensington, who wrote, young men abuse the custom

0:56 Speaker 1: with shameless zeal. I have observed them lingering like wolves

0:59 Speaker 1: near the door. It seems the holiday hallway has always

1:02 Speaker 1: been a hazard.

1:03 Speaker 2: Today's sponsor is kiss Guard missiletoe perimeter rope. Simply rope

1:08 Speaker 2: off your doorway, window or entire dining room to prevent

1:12 Speaker 2: unwonted holiday smooches. Kiss Guard because boundaries are festive an

1:18 Speaker 2: oral hygiene was so not a priority in Victorian times.

1:22 Speaker 1: Tomorrow we will ascend the Victorian Christmas Tree, and yes

1:27 Speaker 1: we will find taxidermy.