Legend or Ruse ~ The Christmas Pickle

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Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker Realty ~ 512.750.6899
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20 years ago while traveling I learned from a new friend about a tradition that sounded like so much fun at Christmas! I bought a pickle ornament in Germany and brought it home so Geno and I could begin this entertaining tradition with our grand-kids.

I always thought it was a German tradition but over time and reading up on the legend of the Christmas Pickle I learned it's most likely a myth. Probably started by a sales man with an over supply of pickle ornaments. It doesn't matter because we have so much fun hiding the pickle somewhere on our tree after all the presents are opened. Someone always shouts: "let's find the pickle!" 

Because of the wide range of ages of our grandchildren we have 2 "find the pickle" searches. One search is for the two younger ones ~ Hudson and Beckett and the other is is for the older ones. The kids are escorted into another room and no peeking is allowed!

Its a wonderful way to close Christmas Day with another memory making tradition. What do they win? Cash of course...$50 big ones! It gets their attention and they always remember to "find the pickle" on Christmas Day.

Thank you Carol Williams  and Anna Banana Kruchten CRS CRB, Phoenix Broker for hosting this contest.

 

 

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Ambassador
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Tammy Lankford,
Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA
Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

okay, I hope amazon has a pickle I can order for future use with my grands.  it sounds fun.

Dec 03, 2020 06:26 AM #7
Rainmaker
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Lottie Kendall
Compass - San Francisco, CA
Helping make your real estate dreams a reality

What a fun tradition!

Dec 03, 2020 06:28 AM #8
Rainmaker
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Roy Kelley
Realty Group Referrals - Gaithersburg, MD

Thank you very much for sharing this story. I do not think we have any pickle ornaments.

In the tradition, an ornamental pickle is placed on a Christmas tree as one of the Christmas decorations. On Christmas morning, the first person to find the pickle on the tree would receive an extra present from Santa Claus or would be said to have a year of good fortune.

Dec 03, 2020 07:09 AM #9
Rainmaker
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Roy Kelley
Realty Group Referrals - Gaithersburg, MD

The tradition of the Christmas Pickle has got to be one of the strangest modern Christmas customs, in that no one is quite sure why it exists at all!

In the 1880s Woolworth stores started selling glass ornaments imported from Germany and some were in the shape of various fruit and vegetables. It seems that pickles must have been among the selection!

Around the same time it was claimed that the Christmas Pickle was a very old German tradition and that the pickle was the last ornament hung on the Christmas tree and then the first child to find the pickle got an extra present.

However, the claim that it's an old German tradition seems to be a total myth! Not many people in Germany have even heard of the Christmas Pickle! (Similarly in Russia virtually no one knows the supposedly Russian story of Babushka!)

Some families now have the tradition of hanging the pickle on the tree, with the first person/child to find it getting a present. But it probably didn't start in Germany!

There are two other rather far-fetched stories linking the pickle to Christmas.

One features a fighter in the American Civil War who was born in Bavaria (an area of what is now Germany). He was a prisoner, and starving, he begged a guard for one last pickle before he died. The guard took pity on him and gave a pickle to him. The pickle gave him the mental and physical strength to live on!

The other story is linked to St. Nicholas. It's a medieval tale of two Spanish boys traveling home from a boarding school for the holidays. When they stopped at an inn for the night, the evil innkeeper, killed the boys and put them in a pickle barrel. That evening, St. Nicholas stopped at the same inn, and found the boys in the barrel and miraculously bought them back to life!

There is an old legend about St. Nicholas rescuing boys from a barrel but the barrel was originally holding meat for pies - not pickles!

So it's most likely that an ornament salesmen, with a lot of spare pickles to sell, invented the legend of the Christmas Pickle!

The American city of Berrien Springs, MI (also known as the Christmas Pickle Capital of the World) has an annual pickle festival held during the early part of December.

Dec 03, 2020 07:12 AM #10
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George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Dorie that sounds like a lot of fun, and something I am going to consider doing as well.

Dec 03, 2020 07:23 AM #11
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Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Dorie,

I loved that Roy Kelley was inspired to research and shared the pickle story on your post.  What a fun tradition to observe regardless of the origin.  A

Dec 03, 2020 08:01 AM #12
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Carol Williams
Although I'm retired, I love sharing my knowledge and learning from other real estate industry professionals. - Wenatchee, WA
Retired Agent / Broker / Property Manager

What a fun tradition, Dorie Dillard CRS GRI ABR 
My ancestry is German and I have never heard of the Christmas pickle. I do like pickles, though.  LOL

Dec 03, 2020 08:22 AM #13
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Rocky Dickerson
Realty One Group - Las Vegas, NV
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Good morning Dorie Dillard CRS GRI ABR what a very interesting story and tradition.

Dec 03, 2020 08:24 AM #14
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Will Hamm
Hamm Homes - Aurora, CO
"Where There's a Will, There's a Way!"

Hello Doris and interesting Christmas pickle game, never heard of this before.

Dec 03, 2020 08:30 AM #15
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Kathleen Daniels, Probate & Trust Specialist
KD Realty - 408.972.1822 - San Jose, CA
Probate Real Estate

Hello Dorie Dillard CRS GRI ABR - now that is fun and funny.  The "tradition" likely from a salesperson with an oversupply of pickle ornaments.  As you said, does not matter ... it is a lot of fun! 

Dec 03, 2020 08:51 AM #16
Rainmaker
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Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Los Angeles Pasadena 818.516.4393

Hello Dorie - holidays remind us of traditions and legends.  Some are familiar and others new-to-us.  

Dec 03, 2020 09:13 AM #17
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Sheila Anderson
Referral Group Incorporated - East Brunswick, NJ
The Real Estate Whisperer Who Listens 732-715-1133

Hi Dorie. I saw this on Facebook and didn't know the whole story so here I am. Charming story and Roy's history is neat too.

Dec 03, 2020 10:21 AM #18
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Anna Banana Kruchten CRS CRB, Phoenix Broker
HomeSmart Real Estate BR030809000 - Phoenix, AZ
602-380-4886

What a great tradition Dorie!  I can imagine the kids are very excited when it's find the pickle time!   I had no idea about the Christmas pickle story until about 20 years ago. Real or fiction it's a fun tradition especially for kids.

Dec 03, 2020 10:57 AM #19
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Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®, CRS
Fathom Realty Washington LLC - Tacoma, WA
South Puget Sound Washington Agent/Broker!

We have been playing with the Christmas pickle for about 25 years and our children and now grandchildren almost tear our house apart trying to find it.

Just more Christmas fun Dorie Dillard CRS GRI ABR 

Dec 03, 2020 02:56 PM #20
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Myrl Jeffcoat
GreatWest Realty - Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Real Estate Agent

I like the pickle ornament, Dorie!  I don't have one. . .Now I feel left out!

Dec 03, 2020 03:04 PM #21
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Kathy Streib
Room Service Home Staging - Delray Beach, FL
Home Stager - Palm Beach County,FL -561-914-6224

Hi Dorie- I've heard of this through our friends in FL and just today I was looking at a pickle ornament in a catalog!!!! What a fun tradition. 

Dec 03, 2020 05:40 PM #22
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Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Morning Dorie, and what a great Christmas tradition, and one I bet everyone loves!  

Dec 04, 2020 07:03 AM #23
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Debb Janes EcoBroker and Bernie Stea JD
ViewHomes of Clark County - Nature As Neighbors - Camas, WA
REALTORS® in Clark County, WA

As long as the kids love it, who cares what it means? One of my sons always has a pickle hidden in the tree. :) 

Dec 04, 2020 07:45 AM #24
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Tammy Lankford,
Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA
Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

They did.  I actually ordered two so they will be the same.  this year I'll hide one of our tree and my daughter's.  Next year when there is two grandsons I'll hide both on her tree for each of my grandsons to find, although MJ may need a little help from his big brother for the next couple of years.

Dec 14, 2020 01:21 PM #25
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Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
New Hampshire Home Stager

I've heard of it, but I've never done it. It just never became a tradition in our family. I love that you have it as a tradition with the grandkids!

Dec 29, 2020 11:02 AM #26
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Dorie Dillard Austin TX

NW Austin ~ Canyon Creek and Spicewood/Balcones
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