In One Ear: Kiss and tell

Published 6:00 am Thursday, January 1, 2026

Guinness World Records has a new record: “Most couples kissing under the mistletoe.” On Dec. 13, in Washington, D.C., 1,435 couples kissed under the “National Mistletoe,” a 10-foot sphere-shaped art installation by My Ly. 

This almost tripled the previous record of 480 couples kissing in 2019 in St. Louis, according to Smithsonian Magazine. The event was organized by the DowntownDC Business Improvement District, and it was no simple feat.

“You need to get people to your attempt. You need that real mistletoe to kiss under, and everyone needs to be in a couple,” Michael Empric, from Guinness World Records, who was present at the event, told WTOP’s Jimmy Alexander. “You can’t just come in as a solo participant. So, there’s a lot of hoops you have to jump through, but they did it today.”

Although the couples were all in the proximity of the mistletoe ball hanging over them, each couple also held their own mistletoe spring over their heads.

“Thank you to everyone who showed up and shared the love,” DowntownDC posted at @downtowndcbid. Sometimes it’s OK to kiss and tell. (Photo: DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID)/DowntownDC)