The German Christmas Pickle: FAKE

Hiding a Pickle ornament is NOT a German tradition, nor did it even originate in Germany.  Shocking, I know.  Well… not really shocking at all when you use a little bit of German knowledge and look a bit more closely at this “tradition” whether then accepting it at face value.

The fallacy-laden story goes that it is a German tradition to hide a pickle-type ornament deep in the branches of the Christmas tree Christmas Eve.  The next morning whatever kid found the pickle hidden by ole St.  Nick would receive an extra present.  As I mentioned, with a little knowledge of how the Christmas Holiday works in Germany it is easy to spot that in Germany, St. Nick comes on the 5th or 6th of December, not Christmas Eve.   In addition, children in Germany do not open their presents Christmas morning as is the tradition in America.  They open them on Christmas Eve.

These details aside, the biggest problem with the Christmas pickle story is that NO ONE IN GERMANY HAS HEARD OF THIS TRADITION! 

That’s right.  The story is yet another FRAUD perpetrated on the gullible American public by marketing companies across the country just foaming at the mouths to sell you 12 cents worth of painted plastic in the form of a pickle for $9.99 so that you can hide it in your tree, while needing to buy an extra present to give away with the magical pickle.

Fell like a sucker, don’t yah?