Do you hide a pickle ornament on your Christmas Tree? Do you know why?
The most popular story of the pickle tradition starts in long ago Germany. How long ago is a bit fuzzy, but on Christmas Eve, while the children are nestled all snug in their beds, their parents decorate the Christmas Tree. Among the ornaments is a pickle, carefully hidden to blend in with the tree’s green boughs. On Christmas morning, as the children race to behold the wonders of the tree and receive their gifts from St. Nick, the first to find the pickle receives an extra present. Adults can play too. The first adult visitor who spies the pickle will have good luck throughout the year.
Another story comes from the American Civil War. A Bavarian born Union soldier was captured and imprisoned in a Georgia jail. In poor health, the prisoner begs his jailor for one last pickle before he dies. It’s Christmas Eve, so in the spirit of the season the jailor takes pity on the soldier and gives in to his last meal request. Behold! The pickle gives the prisoner the strength to live on and after the war, to honor the pickle miracle, his family hides one annually in their tree. The first to spy it has good luck throughout the year.
The most gruesome of the pickle origin stories comes from medieval times. Two young Spaniards are traveling home from their boarding school for the holidays. Stopping at an inn for the night, their evil innkeeper kills them and stuffs their bodies in a pickle barrel. Coincidently, St. Nicholas is also a guest at the inn. He discovers their bodies and miraculously brings them back to life. All hail St. Nicholas! And while you’re at it, let’s hail the pickle.
Here’s the real scoop.
When Woolworth’s began importing glass ornaments from Germany in the 1880’s, they included representations of fruits and vegetables. Presumably the pickle ornaments were a harder sell, so a clever salesman came up with a German tradition, purportedly practiced for centuries, of hiding a pickle ornament for good luck. The pickles became popular because who doesn’t love a good story and a chance for extra fortune throughout the year? Commerce for the win.
Even a story that started as a, well, story, becomes tradition over time. Hiding the pickle ornament is a tradition in our family and who wants to buck tradition? That would be bad luck.