Where did the idea of the "Pickle" Ornament come from?

Question

(You know the one you hide on the tree on Christmas Eve!)

Answer 1

This is an old German tradition to hang a pickle ornament on the tree as the last ornament, hiding it deep within the branches. Just, "How old?", is questionable. The first child to find the prized pickle got an extra gift as a reward for being so observant. It also brought good luck to the finder for the rest of the year. If a family could not afford an extra gift, the lucky finder was allowed to open the first present. Unfortunately, no one really knows how this "tradition" really got started because older Germans, for the most part, have never heard of--and even less--actually practice it. The thought is that a German American manufacturer came up with the idea in order to sell more glass ornaments. There are other tales, as well. I like the version of an imprisoned Civil War soldier from Germany who was in a Georgia prison, supposedly dying, and he asked for a pickle to eat. This lone pickle saved his life and from that time forward, his family and others, continued to hang a pickle ornament from their Christmas trees to commemorate the event. The production of blown glass Christmas ornaments began in the 1890s in Germany, by the way.

Answer 2

Legendary Pickle Ornament

This is an old German tradition. When decorating the Christmas tree, it was a practice to hang the pickle ornament last, hidden among the twigs. The first child on Christmas Eve to find the Christmas pickle ornament would receive an extra gift.

Of course, anyone familiar with German Christmas customs can see the flaws in this “legend.” First of all, the German St. Nick doesn't show up on Christmas Eve. He arrives on the 5th or 6th of December. Nor do German children open their presents on Christmas morning. That happens on Christmas Eve in Germany. But the biggest problem with the German pickle tradition is that no one in Germany seems to have ever heard of it.

Over the years this question has repeatedly come up on the German Teachers forum. Teachers of German in the U.S. and in Europe have never been able to find a native German who has even heard of the pickle legend, much less carried out this Christmas custom. It may have been some German-American invention by someone who wanted to sell more glass ornaments for Christmas.

Answer 3

Germany The idea behind it is this,
the first child to find the pickle hidden way back in the tree gets a special gift for finding it that the other children do not get. Like a special treat or small gift.

Answer 4

Ask a German. I have no idea but my grandkids are asking who is going to hide the pickle. I told their German father to handle it.

Answer 5

My ancestors were German and never heard of this.

Answer 6

i think it came from some other country in like europe or something.

~ME~