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A Pickle of a Tradition - Christmas
As legend has it, in Germany parents decorate their
Tannenbaums on Christmas Eve. The last ornament hung
is die Weinachtsgurke—a delicate glass ornament in the
shape of a pickle. This is a significant ornament, for
the next morning the children will rush in to open their
gifts from St. Nicholas. But the festivities can not
begin until one of the children locates the elusive
gherkin. The one who finds it gets to open the first
gift, and may even receive an extra treat for his or
her effort. So the story is told here in America. Glass
Christmas Pickles are a popular ornament, and usually
come with the curious legend tucked or printed on the
box.
The oddest part about this legend is that it is virtually
unknown in Germany. Nobody knows where it came from,
or who started it. Well known is the fact that the decorating
of Christmas Trees with lights, ornaments, and tinsel
originated in Germany, but unless the Pickle Tradition
was practiced in a remote region of the fatherland,
it is likely that the legend was created at least in
part by Americans, perhaps of German descent. There
are several stories floating around about how the tradition
may have started.
One rumor tells of a Bavarian-born Union soldier fighting
in the Civil War named John Lower (or perhaps Hans Lauer)
who was captured and sent to prison in Georgia. In poor
health and starving, the prisoner begged for just one
pickle before he died. A merciful guard took pity and
found him a pickle. Miraculously, John lived, and after
he returned home he began the tradition of the Christmas
Pickle, promising good fortune to the one who found
the special ornament on Christmas Day.
If this story seems a bit stretched, there is a second
story being perpetuated in Berrien Springs, Michigan,
where 24% of the population report German ancestry.
Residents claim that hundreds of years ago two young
Spanish boys, when traveling home from boarding school
one Christmas Eve, sought refuge for the night at an
inn. Here they encountered a cantankerous inn-keeper
who trapped them in a pickle barrel. When St. Nicholas
stopped at the inn that evening he sensed their distress
and tapped the barrel with his staff, magically freeing
them. Whether this story is true or not, Berrien Springs
calls itself The Christmas Pickle Capital of the World.
The first ornaments used by Germans to decorate Christmas
Trees were fruits, particularly apples, and nuts. These,
along with the evergreen tree itself, represented the
certainty that life would return in the spring. In the
mid-eighteen hundreds, a few enterprising individuals
living in the village of Lauscha (in the present-day
state of Thuringen) began selling glass ornaments. Using
fruit and nut molds at first, they eventually branched
out, adding thousands of molds to their repertoire:
angels, bells, saints, hearts, stars, and so on. Still,
there is no evidence of their having made a pickle,
or of the pickle tradition ever being practiced in Lauscha
or any other German village.
Wherever the legend came from, the Christmas Pickle
Tradition is here to stay. Several German glass ornament
makers have capitalized on the story and offer a variety
of gherkins, dills and cucumbers (some even donning
cheery Santa caps!), perpetuating the myth even as their
German neighbors vehemently deny having ever heard of
it. Whatever the origin, the tradition is sure to bring
a hearty dose of Christmas cheer. And isn’t that the
point?
About the Author:
Emma Snow is a creator at for Ornament Shop http://www.ornament-shop.net
and Craft Kits http://www.craft-kits.net
leading portals for crafts and ornaments.
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