The Interesting Reasons Why People Put Pickles In Christmas Trees

The first full week in December is "Christmas Tree Week" and people are realizing the price of Christmas trees are rising just like everything else. Some people are trying to figure out to get a local cut-it-yourself tree or get an artificial one.

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If you decide to get a local freshly-cut tree, you may be taking more home with you than you realize. You may remember that in 2020, that a Saw-whet owl from Oneonta found its way to Rockefeller Center.

The Owl That Was In The 2020 Rockefeller Christmas Tree

That would be quite a scary surprise if you found an animal in your Christmas tree but what about something more pleasant...like a pickle. I didn't know this was a tradition until recently. Did you?

The Christmas Pickle

The story of the Christmas Pickle goes back to the 1890s' when German stores began selling Pickle glass ornaments. The store put a pickle in a Christmas tree (or would that be a Tannenbaum) and whoever found the pickle would win a prize. It could be an additional present or money while the salesperson would get an extra commission.

In the United States, the Christmas Pickle goes back to the Civil War. It was Christmas Eve and a prisoner asked a guard for a pickle because he was starving. This helped to save the prisoner's life and when he went back home, he started a tradition of putting a pickle on the Christmas tree. I have to admit that I like this story much better.

Are you in a pickle this Christmas season because the Elf on the Shelf didn't come back and you need to do something for the children? Put the pickle in the tree and let the kids try and find it. What could possibly go wrong...besides knocking the tree over?

Advice From A Pickle

Who would ever think that you could get advice from a pickle? Here it is: "Life can be hard sometimes so Dill with it." Oooh, ouch!

Speaking Of the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center. Here's a decades worth of them.