old belief was that, unless a maiden was kissed under the mistletoe at Christmas, she would not be married during the ensuing year. Since married ladies may be kissed as well, it is not quite clear what will happen to them if they are kissed. The old Scandinavian tradition concerning the mistletoe dealt with the death of Balder, fairest of the gods. To assure his life, every tree had given its word that it would not kill him. Then Loki, the mischief-maker of the gods, made an arrow of mistletoe, which had given no oath, and gave it to blind Hoder to shoot, the fatal shot slaying the god. Balder was restored to life, and the mistletoe was given into the care of the goddess Friga, and was never to be an instrument of evil until it again touched the earth. Hence it is always suspended in air, growing as a parasite high in oak and other trees. Its use as a license to kiss dates to the Druids: a branch of the plant is suspended from the ceiling, and any one of fair sex who, by accident or intention, passes beneath the plant, incurs the penalty of a hearty kiss from any man quick enough or audacious enough to take advantage of the opportunity. When natural mistletoe disappears—it is growing rarer now—you can rest assured that inventive man will popularize an artificial mistletoe, so that the lips of all maidens may be warmed by the kiss of Yuletide cheer.
Kissing Games and Sports.—If we had headed this section "kissing sports," it might have been misunderstood, somewhat like the alibi of the awkward dancer, to his fair partner
