This story was commissioned to appear in the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper on December 27th 2004 as part of a tradition of short stories during Christmas week. – Jo Beverly. Click here to read it.
Under the Kissing Bough
Sweet emblem of returning peace, the heart’s full gush and love’s release,
Spirits in human fondness flow and greet the pearly mistletoe.
Oh! Happy tricksome time of mirth, giv’n to the stars of sky and earth!
May all the best of feeling know, the custom of the mistletoe.
Married and single, proud and free, yield to the season, trim with glee:
Time will not stay … he cheats us so … A kiss? … ’tis gone … the mistletoe.
The poem above was written in December, 1826, and last line refers to the custom of plucking a berry every time a kiss was stolen beneath the kissing bough. Once the berries were gone, the kissing was over. – All About Mistletoe
A number of free Holiday Stories and E-Texts can be found at this link: Christmas Potpouri
Bringing Home the Boughs
To learn more about holiday traditions with mistletoe, or the kissing bough, visit the links below:
Jane Austen's World 
[…] Ms. Place posted a link to a Christmas story by Jo Beverley, “The Mistletoe Kiss,” that features Miss Jane Austen in a cameo role. We rather had to not so much suspend our disbelief as stick it with the Official AustenBlog Titanium Spork™ and hang it out the window, but we thought some of our readers might enjoy the little piece. […]
jane austen is a wonderful women. she wrote sooo many wondeful novels and poets. i do have to say that pride and prejudice is one of her best novels ever.jane austen has such a fascnating life its unreal !!!!!!! :]