Christmas Pickle Tradition: Origin, Legends, and How To Play
Is there a Christmas pickle on your tree this year? Learn the interesting origins of this unique holiday tradition.
Quick Reference
- What it is: a glass pickle-shaped ornament hidden on the Christmas tree. The first child to spot it on Christmas morning gets an extra gift or the honor of passing gifts out.
- Called: the Christmas pickle, or in German, weihnachtsgurke.
- Real origin: not German. Woolworth stores began selling glass fruit and vegetable ornaments imported from Germany in the 1880s and 1890s, and a clever sales story stuck.
- Folk legends attached later: a Civil War prisoner’s tale, a Spreewald poverty story, a St. Nicholas rescue variant, and a general “good luck for the year” belief.
- Pickle capital: Berrien Springs, Michigan, once declared itself the Christmas Pickle Capital of the World.
Every family has heirloom holiday ornaments with meaning behind them: grandma’s vintage bulbs, baby’s first Christmas, the newlywed ornament, the year the toilet paper ran out in 2020. Somewhere on that list, in more and more American homes, is a little glass pickle. If you have never heard of hanging one on the Christmas tree, this page walks through where the Christmas pickle came from, the four legends people tell about it, how the game gets played, and why a small Michigan town once called itself the Christmas Pickle Capital of the World.
The Many Origins of the Christmas Pickle
In the 1880s and 1890s, Woolworth stores began selling glass holiday ornaments imported from Germany, including ornaments shaped like fruits and vegetables. At first it was claimed that the tradition of the Christmas pickle, or weihnachtsgurke, was a German one. Few Germans have ever heard of the ornament having any special place in their own traditions. The likelier explanation: an enterprising Woolworth salesman invented a charming backstory to move an unusual product, and the story outlived the sales pitch.
A 2016 New York Times investigation reached the same conclusion by surveying German households: the tradition is far more American than German, and probably was from the start.
Christmas Pickle Traditions and Legends
Though the origin story is fictional, several variations of what the Christmas pickle means have grown up around the ornament, either as legend or as a modern holiday game. In many households, the pickle is hidden among the boughs of the tree. The first child to find it on Christmas morning receives an extra gift or a special treat, or gets the honor of passing out the gifts. The game rewards a child’s powers of observation and encourages patience while everyone else opens their presents.
A Civil War Soldier’s Tale
One legend involves a German-born soldier held as a prisoner of war in Georgia during the American Civil War. On Christmas Eve, on the verge of starvation and death, he begged a guard for one last pickle. The guard gave him one, and that pickle gave the soldier the strength to persevere. After the war, when the soldier returned home, he began hanging a pickle on his tree every Christmas season. The tale is a lesson in gratitude for even the smallest favor.
Small Treasures
A similar gratitude theme connects the Christmas pickle to the Spreewald region of Germany, southeast of Berlin, where cucumbers are grown and pickled. That region is now renowned for its specialty gherkins. Before the pickles were so prized, the legend goes, residents were poor enough that a pickle was the only ornament they had for their Christmas trees. When they emigrated to the New World, they brought their pickle ornaments with them.
A More Sinister Legend
A darker tale has two Spanish boys imprisoned in a pickle barrel by an evil innkeeper, then found and rescued by St. Nicholas. The story is a variant of an older European legend that involves a preserved-meat barrel, not a pickle barrel, and has little to do with Christmas as such. Parents have used it as a warning tale for young children and as a way to reinforce belief in the mercy of Santa Claus.
Good Fortune for the Year
The most basic version of the Christmas pickle meaning is the shortest: whoever finds the ornament on the tree receives good fortune for the year to come. No prisoner, no Spreewald, no St. Nicholas. Just a small piece of good luck earned by paying attention.
Christmas Pickle Capital of the World
Whatever meaning families attach to it, the Christmas pickle has become one of the most popular ornaments on holiday trees across the United States. For a number of years, Berrien Springs, Michigan, a small village in the southwestern corner of the state largely settled by German immigrants and still producing pickles, declared itself the Christmas Pickle Capital of the World and held an annual holiday festival featuring pickles. During the 1990s and until 2003, a parade was part of the festivities, led by the “Grand Dillmaster.”
The town still holds an annual holiday fest. The pickle festival itself moved to summer, where residents and visitors enjoy the pickle fling, a pickle relay race, pickle tasting, pickle decorating, and other activities, crafts, and music.
How To Play the Hidden Pickle Game
The rules of the hidden-pickle game are simple, which is why it travels so well from one family to the next. Here is the version most households play:
- After the tree is decorated on Christmas Eve, the parent hides the pickle ornament deep in the branches, matching the ornament’s green color to the greenery of the tree so it does not stand out.
- On Christmas morning, the children begin the hunt before any gifts are opened.
- The first child to spot the pickle wins the reward: an extra small gift, a special holiday treat, the honor of passing out the gifts to the family, or all three.
- Some families reset the game each morning between Christmas and New Year for a smaller daily prize.
Reader tip we like: if children are very young or the tree is very small, hide the pickle only halfway. The satisfaction of the find matters more than the difficulty of it.
Where To Find a Christmas Pickle Ornament
Glass pickle ornaments are widely available every holiday season. Common sources:
- Traditional German glassblowers, particularly Lauscha in Thuringia, still make hand-blown weihnachtsgurken. Lauscha is the town where glass Christmas ornaments were first made in the 1840s.
- Craft-market vendors and Christmas markets across the American Midwest.
- Big-box holiday retailers stock modern painted-glass versions for a few dollars.
- Etsy and small-shop makers sell hand-painted and personalized pickles for family collections.
A hand-blown Lauscha piece will run higher than a mass-produced version, but it will carry the same folklore either way.
No matter how you view the Christmas pickle, it can be a fun tradition for every family to enjoy.
Christmas Pickle FAQ
What is the Christmas pickle tradition?
The Christmas pickle tradition is a hidden-ornament game. A green glass pickle is tucked deep among the Christmas tree branches on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, the first child to spot it earns an extra small gift, a treat, or the honor of passing out the family’s presents.
Is the Christmas pickle actually a German tradition?
Not really. Glass fruit and vegetable ornaments imported from Germany went on sale at Woolworth stores in the 1880s and 1890s, and a sales-driven backstory called it a German custom. Surveys of German households, including a widely-cited 2016 New York Times report, found that few Germans have heard of it. The tradition is far more American than German.
Where do you hide the Christmas pickle on the tree?
Hide it deep in the branches, close to the trunk, where the ornament’s green color blends with the greenery. Some families place it lower for younger hunters and higher for older ones. Match the difficulty to the age of the finder.
What is the prize for finding the Christmas pickle?
Common rewards are a small extra gift, a special holiday treat, the honor of handing out the family’s Christmas gifts, or simply good fortune for the year to come. Many families use the game as a soft way to encourage patience before the presents are opened.
What is a weihnachtsgurke?
Weihnachtsgurke is the German word for Christmas pickle. It literally translates as “Christmas cucumber.” The term is more common in American descriptions of the tradition than in everyday German usage.
Where can I buy a real German-made Christmas pickle ornament?
Traditional hand-blown glass pickles are still made in Lauscha, in Germany’s Thuringia region, the birthplace of glass Christmas ornaments in the 1840s. Look for Lauscha-marked pieces from importers, craft-market vendors, or specialty holiday shops. Mass-market painted-glass versions are widely available in big-box stores each holiday season.
Where is the Christmas Pickle Capital of the World?
Berrien Springs, Michigan, a small village in the southwestern corner of the state settled largely by German immigrants and still producing pickles, held the title for many years. From the 1990s until 2003, an annual holiday parade was led by the “Grand Dillmaster.” The town’s dedicated pickle festival now runs in summer.
Melissa Mayntz
Melissa Mayntz is a writer who specializes in birds and birding, though her work spans a wide range—from folklore to healthy living. Her first book, Migration: Exploring the Remarkable Journeys of Birds was published in 2020. Mayntz also writes for National Wildlife Magazine and The Spruce. Find her at MelissaMayntz.com.
- Melissa Mayntz
- Melissa Mayntz
- Melissa Mayntz
- Melissa Mayntz
Ugh, the Christmas Pickle. I am from Germany, but live in the USA. Every year, someone asks me about the annoying Christmas Pickle. It is NOT German! Nobody in my family, nor any of my friends have ever heard of it!!! Don’t believe everything you see/read in the Christmas store LOL 🙀
I have a beautiful Christopher Radko (one of a kind) Christmas Pickle! I’ve had since the 80s. My pickle promises Health, Wealth and Adventures in Life. Seems to work in my family. I love traditional rituals. Your pickle can be whatever you want it to be! You could even change it every year. The person finding it would have to wait until whatever you annouce it to be that year. You get to chose. ie wash the dinner dishes for the holiday or not have to help with the holiday dishes…it’s a cool little pickle!! And Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or whatever you do to celebrate this very Holy Holiday!!! and Happy New Year!!
Sorry, but this is not a German tradition, past or present. I live in Germany and we believe someone in America decades ago wanted to earn money and the myth/trend took off.
We simply do not put smelly food in our Weihnachtsbäume.
Stop it. Thanks! ?
Hi Nopickles, we clearly state in the article: “but few Germans have ever heard of this ornament having any special place or traditions associated with it. It is likely that the “tradition” was a clever invention by an enterprising salesman with the hopes that a charming tale would lead to more sales of these unusual ornaments.”
Hi and thanks for your reply. I read the article and saw that, too. My comment was aimed at people in general who actually beleive this stuff l and not necessarily aimed at the writer / article.
There’s quite a few cultural myths out there about us, such as ‘German chocolate cake’, for example. It doesn’t exist here either as we have just chocolate cake like everyone else. We also have speed limits on the autobahn. We also don’t burp during meals if the food is good. Those are just a few examples.
I hope that clears it up.
Thanks for your reply again.
Auf Wiedersehen!
Thanks for your comment!
Do you think you’ll be writing a book about pickles soon?
Great article, and thanks for the info. A cousin (ex in law) gifted me a pickle ornament years ago, along with the story that the first to find it gets a special treat/gift. It means a lot to me.
Good article and now I want a pickle for my tree!
My grandmother is of German origin and my two grandchildren have always enjoyed the search for the Christmas pickle on my christmas tree to get a special treat. I’m hoping that at least one of them carries on the tradition.
Melissa’s picture reminds me of John Lennon. OK, I admit that’s weird.
The story was interesting. I had never heard of this before
My Mom was from Germany and had never heard of the Christmas Pickle until we went to a Christkindle Market where the pickles (tin) were being sold.
I have a collection of pickle ornaments – because I collect glass fruit and vegetable ornaments. Great info on the tradition! Really enjoyed the video also! Thanks, Melissa!