This weekend I learned something that made me really sad. I was talking to Claudia about German holiday games and asked about the tradition of hiding the pickle ornament and people having to find it. She looked at me like I was crazy. Not sure if it was just a problem with my German skills, I described the ornament in English. Still no idea. We asked Roger. He'd also never heard of this tradition. In my mind, this was one of the most important parts of a German Christmas. We decided to ask some of their German friends, and if they didn't know, we could safely conclude that it was not German.I googled "German pickle ornament" and found the following page: German Myth 11. How can this be a myth? I don't understand. Why does everyone in America believe that this is a German tradition? I HAVE a pickle ornament. Why do they sell German pickle ornaments that have nothing to do with Germany? I am still really upset about it. Claudia made the observation that I was like a child who found out for the first time the Santa Claus wasn't real. And it's true. I don't remember ever believing in Santa Claus, so I can't remember the feeling, but I'm sure it's pretty similar.
2 comments:
And all my preconceptions of stereotypical German customs fall by the wayside. Now I'm going to find out lederhosen was invented by the Italians and wurst is an ancient Chinese delicacy! Why, why must the Christmas Pickle be debunked!
Erin! Your blog is so great! Unfortunately, I have to confirm the myth: my family never had a "German" pickle ornament, but we did always have real candles! They're beautiful. Though we always have a bucket of water in the kitchen just in case (I'm serious!). Frohe Weihnachten!
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