We all know that drought affected agriculture especially hard this year, particularly in the Southern regions of the country, but I just ran across an article that correlated the drought with something I wouldn’t ordinarily think of- something that hits us close during this wintry season.
The mistletoe is in danger!
That’s right, an article in the New York Times reports a mistletoe shortage caused by drought in Texas, where one of the largest mistletoe suppliers in the country is located, and bad weather in other mistletoe growing areas.
Artificial mistletoe is always an option, but it seems as if it is disappearing as well.
Funny how that works, I’d never seen mistletoe until just this year when someone (I won’t mention names…) hung it above their door.
The Grinch in me would say I guess maybe people finally see how silly it is to kiss underneath a parasitic plant (or excuse me, a semi-parasitic plant- it can produce its own food through photosynthesis but sucks the nutrients out of trees anyway).
If you do happen to come across some mistletoe, here’s some things you should know:
- A berry should be removed after each kiss, when the berries are gone: no more kissing under the mistletoe
- If a couple kisses under the mistletoe, they will have good luck; if they don’t they’ll have bad luck
- If a single woman is not kissed under the mistletoe, she is doomed to another year of singledom
As my dad would say, what a bunch of hooey! But, whatever floats your boat I suppose.
Enjoy this (interesting?) tradition, or join my Grinchy spirit in seeing it as the silver lining to a bad weather situation.
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