What Is A Christmas Pickle? Here’s The Dill On The Tradition

Does your family have a Christmas Pickle? If the answer is yes then you already know what we are talking about. If not, you're probably wondering what the heck a pickle has to do with Christmas. That's exactly what my thought was at my first Christmas at my in-laws. As soon as we arrived I noticed people were looking around the room with their eyes trying to find something. I had no clue what they were looking for until my brother in law shouted, "I Found The Pickle." I was perplexed.

The Christmas Pickle is at tradition in many households. Historically it's when someone hides a pickle on the Christmas Tree. Most of these aren't real pickles, but rather plastic or glass ornaments. My in-laws they hide the pickle wherever in the house. The person who finds the pickle gets a gift card to somewhere as a prize. It's usually a Target gift card that goes to our wives if us men find it.

According to Wikipedia, the Christmas Pickle likely originates from a marketing ploy developed in the 1890s to get us to buy glass Christmas ornaments from Germany. It's very bizarre, but it appears the marketing was successful because over 100 years later it's still something we do.

Other theories of where it comes from include a story from the Civil War. In this legend, a starving prisoner of war begged a guard for a pickle. The guard gave him a pickle and he said it saved his life.

Another theory is that St. Nick saved a couple of kids that a cannibalistic butcher was storing in a barrel of pickles. If that story isn't true, what sick person thought of that origin story?

So, there you have it. If you were wondering what the heck is with a Christmas Pickle, now you've got some background. Now get looking for it!