Post #127394 by Hakalugi on Wed, Nov 24, 2004 11:43 PM

More info on the German Pickle Tradition from http://german.about.com/library/blgermyth11.htm

Bottom line? Don't buy into it.

Here's an excerpt:
It never fails. Every December someone asks about the German Christmas pickle ornament that's supposed to have a long tradition in Germany.

Here's the pickle “legend” from one Web site: “A very old Christmas eve tradition in Germany was to hide a pickle [ornament] deep in the branches of the family Christmas Tree. The parents hung the pickle last after all the other ornaments were in place. In the morning they knew the most observant child would receive an extra gift from St. Nicholas. The first adult who finds the pickle traditionally gets good luck for the whole year.” This Christmas pickle story, with a few minor variations, can be found all over the Web and in print inside the ornament package. It says that Germans hang a pickle-shaped glass ornament on the Christmas tree hidden away so it's difficult to find. The first child to find it on Christmas morning gets a special treat.

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. (See our German Christmas Guide for more about German Christmas customs.)

But the biggest problem with the German pickle (saure Gurke) tradition is that no one in Germany has ever heard of it. Over the years this question has often come up on the AATG (German Teachers) forum. Teachers of German in the US 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 seems to have been some German-American invention by someone who wanted to sell more glass ornaments for Christmas.