Christmas Pickles is a Christmas tradition for some people in the United States. The ornaments in the form of pickles are hidden in the Christmas tree, with the finder receiving gifts or luck for the next year. There are a number of different origins tied to tradition, including origination in Germany. This theory has since been discounted, and is now considered an American tradition created in the late 19th century.
Video Christmas pickle
Description
In tradition, ornamental pickles are placed on the Christmas tree as one of the Christmas decorations. On Christmas morning, the first child who finds pickles in the tree will receive an extra gift from Santa or will be said to have a lucky year.
Berrien Springs, Michigan is known as the capital of Christmas pickles in the world. The pickle parade was held from 1992 to about 2003. The village is in the Michigan area known for cucumber production.
Maps Christmas pickle
Origins
This tradition is generally believed by Americans to be from Germany and referred to as Weihnachtsgurke, but this may be apocryphal. In fact, this tradition is completely unknown in Germany. It has been suggested that the origins of Christmas pickles may have been developed for marketing purposes in the 1890s to coincide with the importation of Christmas tree decorations from Germany. Woolworths was the first company to import this type of decoration to the United States in 1890, and glass-blown decorative vegetables were imported from France from 1892 onwards. Although the evidence shows that the tradition does not originate in Germany, the concept of Christmas pickles has since been imported from the United States and they are now sold in countries traditionally associated with it.
One of the suggested origin is that the tradition originated from Camp Sumter during the American Civil War. Bavarian-born soldier, John C. Lower, was enrolled in the 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry, but was arrested in April 1864 and taken to a prison camp. As the story goes, on Christmas Eve he begged the guard for pickles at the famine. The guard provides pickles, which Lower is then credited for saving his life. After returning to his family, he started the tradition of hiding pickles on their Christmas tree every year.
Another origin that comes from Berrien Springs is the Victorian-era St Nicholas story of saving two Spanish children trapped in a pickle tray by the innkeeper.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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