Let's Talk: Christmas Traditions
Choose to Laugh, with or without a Pickle!
If you’ve never carried out the Christmas pickle tradition, it involves hiding a pickle ornament (officially called a weihnachtsgurke) on your tree on Christmas Eve. Because it’s dark green, it blends in with the branches. On Christmas morning, the kids (or all those not involved in the hiding of the pickle) race to find it; the first one to spot the pickle gets to open the first gift.
No one seems to be certain where this quirky gherkin tradition was first marinated. One old tale features a dying Civil War soldier who asked his captors for one final pickle; the briny vegetable miraculously rejuvenated him and sustained him until his release. Grateful for a second chance at life, the story goes, the veteran hung a pickle on his Christmas tree ever after.
The most likely genesis of this tradition, however, is that German ornaments shaped like fruits and vegetables—popular in the 1880s—were imported by Woolworth’s Department Store and sold in the U.S. (a true story), and the pickle ornament was simply the most popular.
Whatever the case, we can learn from the lowly pickle to incorporate a sense of fun in our family traditions. Sometimes getting everything just right at Christmas can take a stressful toll. We need to be reminded that if things go awry and we don’t get every cookie made, every square inch of the house decorated, or every tradition repeated, it’s ok to be in a bit of a pickle!
What can you do to make room for more laughter this Christmas?
“Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them’” (Psalm 126:2).
