There are a lot of Christmas Traditions out there. Bringing trees indoors, and decorating them. Making Gingerbread houses, or people. Reading Christmas books, or watching movies. Ugly sweater wearing. Even hiding the Christmas Pickle.
Yes, the old Christmas Pickle. I had never heard of this before. It is the American tradition of hiding a green ornament on the tree. The deal follows that the first child to find that green pickle, wins a special gift. Or maybe, they get to open the first present on Christmas morning. How this practice got started is a bit fuzzy. It likely it grew from a marketing scheme at Woolworth’s during the late 1800s. Woolworth’s received a big bunch of imported German ornaments shaped like pickles and they needed a sales pitch to get rid of them. Hence, hide a pickle. Next week, guess the gherkin.
Candy Canes have another neat history. They are, by the way, the number one best-selling non-chocolate candy during December. But they started a long time ago and date back to 1670 in Germany. We did not know them in the United States until 1847. That’s when the red and white peppermint sticks arrived, in none other than Wooster, Ohio. A German-Swedish immigrant brought them over and hung them on his tree. It caught on like crazy. But, it took a long time until a candy cane-making machine was invented. That didn’t happen until the 1950s.
But, with all of our traditions, and rituals, none is as “sweet” as leaving out Christmas Cookies and Milk for Santa Claus. Or any snack at all. This one started during the Great Depression in the 1930s, as a sign of showing gratitude during a time of struggle.
As a sign of showing gratitude.
I am thankful for so much in this world.
As always, I am thankful for you.
Merry Christmas.
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“Santa Claus is anyone who loves another and seeks to make them happy; who gives himself by thought or word or deed in every gift that he bestows.
— Edwin Osgood Grover
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