Holiday traditions how do I love thee, Christmas light car rides where the kids bring in pillows and blankets while me or my hubs drive aimlessly (competing to who can find the best dressed up homes), fancy dinners with pals sans kids, Santa selfies!...but traditions in pickle form, uhmm yes please. And for those of you familiar with or unfamiliar with this fun tradition, this one's for you including a free tree pickle ornament download in celebration of the first day of Winter!
The Tree Pickle Tradition / Hang a pickle ornament on your tree secretly, on Christmas morning the first one to find it on the tree gets a gift and good luck the following year! This is pre elf folks and is probably why I love it so. That and it's kooky and fun!
Origin of The Tree Pickle...we think? / This tradition has no exact origin but here is text taken from Wikipedia:
This tradition is commonly believed by Americans to come from Germany and be referred to as a Weihnachtsgurke, but this is probably fictitious. It has been suggested that the origin of the Christmas pickle may have been developed for marketing purposes in the 1890s to coincide with the importation of glass Christmas tree decorations from Germany. Woolworths was the first company to import these types of decorations into the United States in 1890, and glass blown decorative vegetables were imported from France from 1892 onwards. Despite the evidence showing that the tradition did not originate in Germany, the concept of the Christmas pickles has since been imported from the United States and they are now on sale in the country traditionally associated with it.
One suggested origin has been that the tradition came from Camp Sumter during the American Civil War. The Bavarian-born Private John C. Lower had enlisted in the 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry, but was captured in April 1864 and taken to the prison camp. As the story is told, on Christmas Eve he begged a guard for a pickle while starving. The guard provided the pickle, which Lower later credited for saving his life. After returning to his family, he began a tradition of hiding a pickle on their Christmas tree each year.
Today / Personally I enjoy this tradition more than the origin and love seeing the kids anticipation when they catch a glance of our pickle amongst the other treasured ornaments. Our tradition is that every year we buy a glass ornament to represent the year passed...haven't googled "glass mask ornaments" yet but I'm sure they are out there.
Regardless of any specific traditions I hope you all have a very special and healthy holiday and an amazing new year! 2022 has a good ring to it.
XOX
DOWNLOAD HOW TO / Feel free to download my tree pickle design to start your own tradition OR if you'd like, pass him along to others! I suggest a heavy cardstock (if your printer can take it) for this project, but gluing your two sides together with standard copy paper is very sturdy, just won't stand the test of time.
Cut your pickle images front + back as well as his tag (optional) on the dotted lines.
Using a glue stick, glue your two sides together.
Trim edges to make both sides even.
Using a hole punch, punch over the marked "X" on your pickle and tag (optional).
Attach cording of choice and add your tag.
Enjoy!
Take It Up A Notch / Use this download to print your image on printable heat transfers. This way you can create your own tree pickle stuffie ornament! I used a simple and pretty blanket stitch when done, perfect for hiding any hand sewn blemishes after stuffing.
Comments