Under the Mistletoe

"''Ho-ho, the mistletoe, hung where you can see, Somebody waits for you, kiss her once for me"

- Burl Ives, "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas", featured in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows on trees. In some cultures, it's traditional to hang it up somewhere at parties, with the additional custom that if two people meet under it, they ought to kiss. Naturally, this produces some good opportunities for writers. Hilarity may well ensue as the wrong people are caught under it, or as the "right" ones are maneuvered over by matchmaking friends. Some writers may indulge in a bit of Ship Tease.

Mistletoe came to people's attention because it's evergreen and produces berries in winter, and is often one of the only green things in a winter forest. It comes up a lot in mythology - Greeks liked it, the Norse god Balder was killed by it, druids regard it as a symbol of immortality, and an old Christian story holds that Christ's cross was made of mistletoe, and after the Crucifixion all the mistletoe trees shriveled up. But the tradition everyone thinks of is originally Scandanavian - if two people are under a sprig of mistletoe, they must kiss. This was first a tradition that if two armies in a forest saw mistletoe growing, they stopped fighting for a night.

An usual element of the Christmas Episode.

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Anime

 * Used to wonderful effect in the Pokémon song "Under the Mistletoe." Misty wants it to happen, but Ash doesn't. Again, Hilarity Ensues. (Suffice to say, 4Kids are Pokéshippers.)

Comic Books

 * In one issue of the yearly Marvel Holiday Special, The Avengers hosted a party. There was only one sprig of mistletoe, so Hank Pym put it on a remote-control hovering device and flew it around "to stretch it". Jessica Drew was not impressed.
 * It should be noted that at least FIVE guys were in on it (including Spider-Man, while married, and Mary Jane IN THE ROOM), and she only suspects after about 4.
 * In a Vertigo Winter's Edge special, a boy steals a kiss from a girl he's just met, then points above them and says, "Mistletoe". She responds by stamping his foot, pointing to her foot and saying, "Missile toes".
 * During her first year with the X-Men, Kitty Pryde held a sprig of Mistletoe over Peter Rasputin's head during a Christmas party as an excuse to kiss him. Kitty remembered this moment sadly when she returned to the mansion in the first issue of Joss Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men.
 * In the original story by Chris Claremont and John Byrne (Uncanny X-Men #143), just before that moment there had been a darker twist on it: When Nightcrawler playfully kissed Wolverine's then-girlfriend Mariko on the cheek using the same stratagem, Wolvie flew into a rage and went after Kurt with his Adamantium claws and had to be restrained by Colossus and the Professor.
 * Two years before that issue, the same artistic team had produced Marvel Team-Up #79, in which Mary Jane Watson crashed the Daily Bugle Christmas party and used the same trick to seriously smooch Peter Parker. Mary Jane seems to like this stratagem - in The Sensational Spider-Man Annual, the team of Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca showed a flashback episode early in their Jane's relationship where MJ tried to encourage Peter to kiss her by wearing a Santa hat with mistletoe hanging off it, but he chickened out. However, in both instances (and the one involving Kurt and Mariko), what was shown on-panel was actually holly and not mistletoe.

Fan Works

 * Pick a fandom. Now pick a pairing. Now go on the Internet. No matter how nonsensical or unlikely, there will be a Fanfic out there somewhere that uses this trope.
 * In Harry Potter fanfics (of pretty much every ship), the mistletoe is often enchanted, magically trapping whichever couple that happens to be standing under it until they kiss. Often, these are created and supplied by the Weasley twins. A Different Yule Ball by Andrew Aelfwine is a particularly good example.

Film
"Young Zoey: Look we're under a mistletoe. Do you know what that means, you have to kiss me."
 * In Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Robin tells Morgan Freeman's character that "many a maid has lost her virtue to me, thanks to this little plant." Interestingly, Freeman's response is, "In my country, we talk to our women. We do not drug them with plants."
 * In Batman Returns, Batman and Catwoman have an exchange about it in battle. The Ironic Echo happens when they actually encounter mistletoe at a Christmas party as Bruce and Selina.
 * Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie.


 * In the original Toy Story, Woody is talking to Bo Peep toward the end of the movie, only to look up and see that her sheep are holding mistletoe. When he remarks, "Hey, is that mistletoe?" she replies "Uh-huh!" and more or less tackles him.
 * In While You Were Sleeping, Lucy and Jack kiss under the mistletoe.

Literature
"From the centre of the ceiling of this kitchen, old Wardle had just suspended, with his own hands, a huge branch of mistletoe, and this same branch of mistletoe instantaneously gave rise to a scene of general and most delightful struggling and confusion; in the midst of which, Mr. Pickwick, with a gallantry that would have done honour to a descendant of Lady Tollimglower herself, took the old lady by the hand, led her beneath the mystic branch, and saluted her in all courtesy and decorum. [...] Mr. Winkle kissed the young lady with the black eyes, and Mr. Snodgrass kissed Emily; and Mr. Weller, not being particular about the form of being under the mistletoe, kissed Emma and the other female servants, just as he caught them. As to the poor relations, they kissed everybody, not even excepting the plainer portions of the young lady visitors, who, in their excessive confusion, ran right under the mistletoe, as soon as it was hung up, without knowing it!"
 * The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens:


 * Harry Potter gets caught under the mistletoe with Luna Lovegood, and quickly jumps out from under it. Luna considers this a wise move, "it's often infested with Nargles." Harry later finally gets his first kiss with Cho Chang under the mistletoe.
 * On the Discworld, the wizards of Unseen University hang up a mistletoe as part of their Hogswatch celebration. Archchancellor Ridcully notices this and wonders why, since the all-male faculty dismisses the women help before the main feast.
 * Hercule Poirot, of all people, gets caught under mistletoe in "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding," on account of being too busy exercising his little grey cells to notice where he's standing. He doesn't seem to mind the result.
 * A sprig of mistletoe is a central feature at the Campbell family Christmas celebrations in Louisa May Alcott's Eight Cousins. At one point, eldest cousin Archie is so caught up in the festivities that he kisses Phebe (the maidservant) under the mistletoe, then promptly apologizes. Later, during a game of forfeits, Charlie dares Rose (the only female cousin) to take "old Mac" under the mistletoe and give him a kiss; he means their cousin, but she cleverly gets around it by bestowing the honor on their Uncle Mac instead. When cousin Mac finds out what she did, he remarks that he probably wouldn't have minded if she had done what Charlie intended.

Live Action TV
"[to Booth] *You* are going to kiss me under the mistletoe. On the lips. [to Zack and Hodgins] I might kiss you guys under the mistletoe, too. (to Bones) And maybe even you. In a festive, non-lesbian manner."
 * A running gag on the Colbert Christmas Special, was him and the each guest under the mistletoe with Colbert saying "Well this is awkward" before being rebuffed for a kiss. He finally does kiss... a bear.
 * Basil does this to Madison in one of the Christmas episodes of The Basil Brush Show. He kisses her, and gets a slap.
 * Bones episode "The Man in the Fallout Shelter". Angela Montenegro:

"Larry: Mistletoe. It's an old tradition. You hang it over the door and women *have* to kiss you. Balki: What a gimmick! Why don't we hang it up all year long? Larry: Unfortunately, it only works at Christmas."
 * Later, Booth and Brennan kiss under the mistletoe, at Caroline's insistence.
 * Perfect Strangers episode "A Christmas Story".

"Ms. Yvonne: It's mistletoe! You're always supposed to kiss somebody if they're standing underneath the mistletoe! This way, I'm assured hundreds and hundreds of kisses from everyone!"
 * Christmas Special.


 * An episode of WWE Raw had Mickie James kiss Trish Stratus under the mistletoe. Trish freaks and runs off afterwards, because she is not a lesbian.
 * Kermit and Miss Piggy exchange rather sweet cheek kisses under the mistletoe in A Muppet Family Christmas.
 * Kimberly and Tommy go through two false starts with this trope (Skull steals one kiss and Zordon unknowingly stops the second attempt to gather the team) before finally pulling it off in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Christmas special

Music

 * Of course, the song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus".

Video Games

 * This is part of the "Winter Veil" holiday in World of Warcraft.

Web Comics

 * A piece of official Gunnerkrigg Court art which doesn't seem to like being linked to, but which can still be accessed from the Art button on the main site.
 * A piece of official Christmas art for Girl Genius features Agatha, her two love interests, and propeller-equipped mobile sprig of mistletoe.
 * An El Goonish Shive Christmas filler features a fairy holding mistletoe over two characters.
 * The Prime of Ambition had a bonus page where the cast plays tricks with each other around a mistletoe.
 * In Living with Hipster Girl and Gamer Girl, Artur finds lettuce in his burger and removes it — he hates lettuce. "Gamer Girl" Erika glances up from her computer game, sees him holding up the lettuce leaf, and mistakes it for mistletoe (the image in her speech bubble is actually holly). Neither of them is under it, but she doesn't let that stop her, planting a big smooch on Artur and then happily going back to her game. Artur has no idea why she just kissed him; when he moved in with Erika and Sophie the "Hipster Girl," he was told "keep your hands to yourself."
 * Sequential Art offers the warning: "Beware the snog-weed."
 * Unshelved warns: mistletoe is poisonous.

Web Original
"Traditional antidote for poison Though most have an allergic reaction The druids don't care They're too busy shar-"
 * From the guy who wrote 1/0, some useful limerick aids on the difference between holly and mistletoe.

- ing a kiss to compile reliable medical information."


 * In the Christmas installation of Awkward, Alex attempts this with Lester using mistletoe lotion. A valiant attempt, but it's a no go.

Western Animation
"Robot Santa: Your mistletoe is no match for my TOW missile!"
 * Cindy was less than thrilled at being woken up in Yogi Bear's Christmas special until she learned about the "catch a guy under mistletoe and he HAS to kiss you" tradition. Hilarity Ensues.
 * In a Kim Possible Christmas special, Ron explains that it isn't mistletoe, it's just some parsley he found, but Kim kisses him anyway.
 * In the infamous Ren and Stimpy episode "Son of Stimpy (Stimpy's First Fart)," Ren tries to cheer up a depressed Stimpy on Christmas. He points to the mistletoe over the doorway and makes goo-goo eyes at Stimpy, in the single biggest Ho Yay moment of the original series.
 * In one episode of Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy, Ed holds a mistletoe over Double Dee and tries to kiss him.
 * The Nightmare Before Christmas: "They kiss! Why, that looks so unique! Inspired!"
 * In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Casey tries to get a kiss from April by having Raph and Angel (a teenager friend of the turtles') put mistletoe up on a pulley and line so it would follow them across the room. April is not amused.
 * In the Christmas Special of Jackie Chan Adventures, Uncle points out that the villain Dolong Wong is standing under mistletoe. Wong looks up, sees it, and freaks; allowing Uncle to knock him out. The trope is played straight later with Jackie and Viper.
 * In one of the earliest episodes of Tom and Jerry, which was of course a Christmas one, Jerry stops Tom from chasing him by holding up a mistletoe and making a cute smoochy face at him. Tom then blushes and turns away shyly, only to have Jerry kick him in the rear. Truly one of the biggest Foe Yay moments in the series.
 * In Taz-Mania's Christmas episode, 'No Time for Christmas', there a mistletoe scene between Bushwacker Bob and Constance Koala. Same for Mr. Thickley the Kangaroo.
 * In the Christmas special of SpongeBob SquarePants, Spongebob points out to Patrick that Squidward is under the mistletoe, at which point he looks at the time and flees the scene.
 * In the Venture Brothers Christmas episode, Pete White wears a sprig of mistletoe on a headband while putting the moves on Triana. She's not going for it at all, then her father magically incinerates it and runs Pete off with a warning glare.
 * During the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Christmas Special, Eduardo ties a sprig of mistletoe to his horns so that he can go around kissing everyone. Bloo is not amused.
 * In Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!, Baljeet says that all he wants for Christmas is a pretty girl to kiss him under the mistletoe. Later on, Wendy Stinglehopper gives him his wish.
 * The above picture of Candace and Jeremy comes from the music video for the series' version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".
 * In Futurama, Fry and Leela almost had a kiss under the mistletoe, until Robot Santa interfered.


 * Jenny holds up a mistletoe over Sheldon's head on My Life as a Teenage Robot in the Christmas special in order to give him his Christmas gift.
 * In one episode of King of the Hill, Hank says there won't be any mistletoe at his family's Christmas party due to last year's unfortunate incident. Bill tries to justify himself by saying the eggnog made him tipsy.