LITTLETON | Passed on from one generation to another, meaningful and fun holiday traditions are part of every family’s celebrations.
But sometimes, there are traditions that just can’t be fully explained.
The Christmas pickle tradition has been part of many families across the country for generations. However, with numerous theories about its beginnings circulating the internet, the origins of the tradition remain unclear.
Wherever the tradition sparked, one thing is certain: hanging a pickle ornament on the family Christmas tree has a history of bringing people together during the holiday season.
“It’s a way for us to find some community in fun ways,” said Dr. Kim Kilmek, a history professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver. “And finding it in a pickle – it just brings up a light heartedness to the season and to the darker time of the year.”
Whether the pickle ornament is the first or last ornament placed on the Christmas tree, the tradition of the Christmas pickle involves having children find the ornament on Christmas morning.
Once found, how people celebrate the pickle differs from family to family.
Often, the one who finds the pickle gets to open the first gift on Christmas. Another is that the person who finds the pickle receives an extra gift or is said to have good luck for the upcoming year.
While the reason behind why the pickle is searched for varies, some say it’s a way to encourage children to appreciate the ornaments hung on the tree rather than rushing to see what St. Nicholas had brought them.
Where did it come from?
It’s commonly believed that the Christmas pickle is a German tradition. But because it is a mystery as to where it actually originated, some historians are led to believe that it is a German-American or possibly an Eastern European-American tradition.
Klimek has been teaching history courses in Denver for nearly 20 years – including medieval history – and mainly focuses on women’s history and European history. Klimek’s studies suggest the pickle tradition seem to have originated in the United States when the Pennsylvania Dutch were settling in the midwest.
“No historians know if it was there before these people came,” said Klimek.
Klimek added that many people in Germany and its surrounding German-speaking countries were not aware of the tradition and didn’t, and still don’t, take part in the tradition.
History of the pickle
One theory dates back to ancient times in which the pickle was thought to represent hope and a glimmer of light. Another is a medieval tale that involves St. Nicholas rescuing two Spanish boys who were kidnapped by an evil innkeeper and placed in a pickle barrel.
Others think the tradition was a marketing strategy. In the 19th century, a town in Germany was producing glass blown produce-shaped ornaments that were imported to Woolworth stores in the United States. Legend has it that the pickle ornament was not selling well, but by calling it a “German tradition” made it more appealing to American customers.
One of the most commonly heard stories is about a Bavarian-born soldier who was captured during the American Civil War and was being starved in a prison. The story goes that the soldier begged the guard for a pickle on Christmas Eve. The guard gave in and the pickle gave the soldier the strength to survive and reunite with his family.
Despite the fact that no one knows the exact origin of the tradition, Klimek said it feeds into the fact that Americans tend to seek tradition.
“They’re always seeking these kinds of older traditions to bring into their households,” said Klimek. “I think that this idea really links us to maybe even an imagined past – it doesn’t even have to be true to be fun.”