Why Do I Bother?

While in Wisconsin recently, Mel and I picked up a new Christmas ornament, a pickle.  I was going to look up the story for you and tell you about it here, but it seems that there is quite a controversy over the Christmas Pickle.

The most popular story is that the pickle originated in Germany.  Many people (especially those selling German Christmas Pickles) assert that the Christmas Pickle was the last ornament to be hung on the tree in old Germany.  Early Christmas morning the kids would rush out to find the pickle and receive a special present.  Unfortunately, no one in Germany has ever heard of such a thing.  They think we are a bit crazy.

The Christmas Pickle is clearly an American tradition.  The most likely alternative to the German tale is that the tradition arose after the American Civil War.  A starving prisoner of Bavarian descent was given a pickle by a guard made sympathetic by the spirit of Christmas.  The prisoner lived and always placed a pickle in his Christmas tree each year to commemorate the event. 

Whatever the truth is, we now have a shiny green pickle hanging in our tree.  Do you have any unusual Christmas traditions?