Christmas Pickle

A Christmas pickle is referred to a glass hanging ornament popular in the Christmas season.

The glass Christmas pickle ornament is placed on the Christmas tree in a hidden place. Those that find the pickle on the tree is either given a gift or will have good luck for the next year. It comes in the form of a glass pickle ornament, found in most supermarkets and shops during Christmas time. They are found on Christmas tree's over the neighborhood. The glass pickle ornaments are swept in mystery, due to the truth of the story behind this popular custom. The hand-blown glass pickle dates back to 1948 and is suppose to be created by Lauscha in Germany.

Christmas pickle story:

The decorations on the tree are not actual pickles, they are just decorations shaped as a pickle. This is one tradition which is practiced during Christmas time that most people don’t know why it is there in the first place! It is believed that the Christmas pickle was an old practice in Germany whereby, it was the last item to be hidden in the Christmas tree by mums and dads. The child who managed to find the pickle on the Christmas tree was given an extra gift.

The Tradition Behind The Christmas Pickle:

The claim that the Christmas pickle originated from Germany might just be a belief because, it is not well known in German and society do not know about the tradition of the Christmas pickle. The most popular story about the Christmas pickle is about a Bavarian (named John) who participated in the American civil war. He was a prisoner in foreign land and speaking a foreign language, he was starving to death and on his deathbed, he asked a guard to give him a pickle in order to eat before he died.

The guard had mercy on him and offered him a pickle of which, after consuming, he regained his strength and survived. It was the lucky pickle! There are more stories behind the pickle ornament, there was the possibility that the custom may have been invented by an ornament seller who wanted to sell his glass Christmas pickles! Whatever you decide to believe, the fact remains that, the traditions of the Christmas pickle help accomplish one thing, they managed to give children a reason to enjoy the beauty of the decorated tree instead of focusing solely on the gifts wrapped at the bottom of the Christmas tree!