22 December 2008

Ornaments: Pickle

It is commonly believed that the pickle ornament is an old German tradition. The story goes that the pickle is hidden in the tree and the first child to find it gets an extra present or good luck for a year. A few years ago, Heather and I mentioned to our German friend Klaus that we had a pickle ornament and were surprised when he asked why. Come to find out, he had never heard of this alleged German tradition. That led to a little research, which seems to point to another traditional holiday custom: the marketing ploy. Anyway, we still hang ours every year.

1 comment:

Kristen Brown said...

My folks have a pickle as well. They actually bought it when they lived in Germany. We always have a contest to see who can find it first, and the winner gets $5 cash. Marketing ploy or not... I like it!