Why I Like the Kissing Ball

A tradition in my family is hanging the kissing ball. The kissing ball is always the last decoration we hang, and we always have a giant party to celebrate. My family, friends and neighbors come over to eat dinner and dessert, and halfway through the evening my dad hangs the kissing ball in the doorway between the dining room and the living room.

After it is hung everybody takes turns walking underneath the kissing ball to the living room, where they leave a piece of paper with an act they forgive another person for in a bowl, and something they hope to be forgiven of. We mix up all the papers and throughout the night my mom reads the forgiveness slips out loud. This is my favorite part of the night, because whenever something that is forgiven corresponds with something that somebody hoped to be forgiven of, we all cheer “to peace!” and take a sip of our drink. There are never any names written on the slips, so nobody gets embarrassed, but it's always nice when you know you're being forgiven for something. I also like it because sometimes it's easier to forgive somebody on paper than it is to say it out loud.

Also, whenever you pass underneath the kissing ball at the same time somebody else does, you have to give them a kiss! Every year Melissa, the neighbor girl, always tries to trick me into walking underneath the kissing ball with her. I try to avoid her, but somehow she always manages to sneak in beside me as I'm walking underneath it! It's not that I mind kissing her on the cheek so much, but my brother and my uncle always tease me afterwards, which can be pretty embarrassing. Sometimes I write down that I forgive them for embarrassing me on my forgiveness slip.

I've always wondered where the tradition of the kissing ball came from, and this year my teacher explained it to my class. Hanging the kissing ball comes from the tradition of hanging mistletoe, which comes from a Scandinavian belief that mistletoe was a plant of peace. An ancient custom from Scandinavia was that if enemies happened to meet each other beneath mistletoe, they would lay down their arms until the next day, and that is why we kiss underneath mistletoe.

We used to hang mistletoe, but one year some of the berries fell off and my mom was afraid my little sister or our cat, Missy, would eat the berries and get sick, so we started putting up a kissing ball instead. I like the kissing ball better than mistletoe because it is still a symbol of peace and forgiveness, but it is safer and prettier than mistletoe.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, which handcrafts a fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreath, Christmas Centerpiece and Kissing Ball which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

The Victorian Kissing Ball

Everyone knows about stealing a kiss under the mistletoe but not everyone knows about the kissing ball. This ornament harks back to Colonial days in America and it was a popular Christmas decoration during the Victorian era in England. It is the predecessor of the tradition of hanging mistletoe in a doorway and why many people stopped using this particular ornament is unclear. What is clear is that it is starting to come back into ‘style’ today as more and more people discover this unique Christmas decoration.

The kissing ball has always been made of evergreen boughs and mistletoe, unless you purchase a modern one that is made of some type of material that will not wilt or fade as it gets old. Bay and pine, rosemary, lavender and thyme were also used in the ball when they were handmade. During the Victorian era, the base of the ball was made from an apple or a potato. Each of the flowers or herbs that were used in the construction of the ball had a meaning. For example, mistletoe was used to help the people who kissed beneath it overcome difficulties throughout the year.

In addition to the base, herbs, and pine used in the decoration, they were also decorated with ribbons, other small ornaments, and sometimes even lighted candles. The ball was also made using a double hoop made of metal or grapevine for the base and this particular style had a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the center. In Canada, the kissing ball also included nuts, berries, pinecones, and sometimes even popcorn. It also replaced the traditional Christmas tree in Canada where many of the homes in the northern regions of the country were too small to accommodate a tree.

Just like the popular tradition of kissing under the mistletoe today, couples would kiss beneath a kissing ball in olden days. Young women who were caught under the decoration had to pay the price and give the gentleman who caught her there a kiss. Some other traditions stated that couples that kissed beneath the ball would stay together for the year and maybe even marry. In order to ensure that the power of the herbs and plants used in the ball lasted throughout the year, the kissing ball was traditionally burned on Twelfth Night.

If you are interested in making your own decoration for your home, there are numerous craft instructions available on the Internet for you use. These instructions range from making a small ball with the traditional apple or potato base to actually growing a ball in a round metal frame planter that includes ivy, holly, and other Christmastime plants that can be started growing early in the year so that it is ready to decorate for the holidays.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, which handcrafts a fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreath, Christmas Centerpiece and Kissing Ball which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.