Christmas tradition trivia
Mistletoe was originally a Norse symbol of peace — enemies who met beneath it were expected to lay down their weapons for the day, which is a slightly more serious origin than the kissing custom suggests.
Eggnog is a distant cousin of a medieval British drink called "posset," a hot spiced milk and ale mixture served to the wealthy, since eggs, milk and sherry were far too expensive for most households.
And the candy cane wasn't striped at all for its first 250-some years — it started as a plain white sugar stick, bent into a hook shape sometime in the 1600s.
