The Story Behind The Delightfully Random Pickle Ornament

It's Christmas morning. You woke up at the crack of dawn and roused your bleary-eyed parents from their long winter's nap. After barreling down the stairs, you get your first glimpse at the bountiful harvest of brightly-wrapped surprises that Saint Nick left behind. However, before you tear into your presents, there's one thing left to do. Hidden somewhere within the prickly forest of pine needles that guards your gifts is a covert cucumber.

The pickle ornament tradition involves parents hiding a — you guessed it — pickle ornament somewhere within their Christmas tree and having their children find it before opening their gifts (via USA Today). This can be a difficult task, given the similarities between the tree's green hue and that of the ornament. Being the first child to brave branches and sap to find the pickle will earn you the privilege of opening the first gift. Alternatively, according to Martha Stewart, "The first child to find the ornament on Christmas morning is granted the privilege of unwrapping a special gift from under the tree." This peculiar pickle tradition has an equally fascinating history.

It's not exactly clear when the Christmas pickle tradition first began. USA Today suggests a possible origin story that centers around an American Civil War soldier. A starving Union POW begged a camp guard for a pickle on Christmas Eve, and the guard eventually relented, saving the prisoner's life. After being liberated, the soldier went home and hung a pickle on his Christmas tree every year to commemorate the occasion.

A more bizarre hypothesis surrounding the origins of the Christmas pickle ornament centers around a pair of boys and a nefarious innkeeper. Apparently, Saint Nicholas rescued the young men after the innkeeper interred them in pickle barrels, allowing them to run home just in time for Christmas dinner.

Martha Stewart explains though the Christmas pickle ornament is often considered to be a remnant of Old World Germany, the true origin of the tradition likely has a simpler explanation. The tradition was probably manufactured in the 1800s to stimulate the sale of German glass ornaments, or at least, per Martha Stewart, that's where the evidence points. However, a 2016 survey revealed that only 8% of German nationals had ever even heard about the Christmas pickle (via TODAY).

Even if we never know the true origin of the Christmas pickle tradition, it will always be a big dill to those who partake.