THE CHRISTMAS PICKLE

Yes, you read that right… I am going to write about a pickle. Why?

Jene’ and I were shopping today and we were looking at ornaments. I noticed a pickle ornament and chuckled. Jene’ told me it was a traditional ornament and one of her heritages (German, Scottish, Irish) put pickles on their trees. Of course, she bought one to put on our tree.

Curiosity got the best of me and I called upon my friend, Google, to help me understand the enigma of the Christmas Pickle. Here’s where Google sent me (http://www.angelfire.com/home/sallinger/holidayhouse/christpickle.htm). According to this website, the legend of the Christmas pickle comes from this story:

The Medieval tale of the pickle tells of two Spanish boys traveling home from boarding school for the holidays. Weary from travel, they stop at an inn for the night. The inn keeper, a mean and evil man, steals the boys’ possessions, and stuffs the boys into a pickle barrel. That evening, St. Nicholas stops in for a rest at the inn, and becomes aware of the boys’ plight. He taps the pickle barrel with his staff, and the boys are magically restored. The boys thank St. Nicholas, and continue happily home for Christmas.

Okay, I think, much like many Christmas traditions, this little tale yielded marketable dividends, namely, a glass blown ornament (Production of the blown glass Christmas ornament started in the1890’s). Apparently, it’s a kick for kids to hunt for this little ornament on the tree, for if they find it first, they either get to open their presents first, get whatever present they want, or get an extra present…depending on which website’s info you choose to believe, and the financial status of the family.

Granted, many of the most…unique… Christmas traditions are German, so being of German/Swiss descent, I should have been aware of this little piece of Deutsche Christmas Lore, but alas, I was clueless. Therefore, I wanted to educate the rest of you so you can run to the store and get Christmas Pickles to put on your tree.

I prefer dill. 🙂