In the USA there is an old story about the Christmas pickle hailing from Germany.
The story goes like this:
When Santa visits he always leaves behind a pickle (yes, like a dill pickle) hidden among the branches of the Christmas tree for the kids to find on Christmas morning. There is a special pickle present from the big guy himself for the pickle-finder, usually in the form of candy or cookies.
It is also said that whoever finds the pickle has good luck for the year ahead!
A pretty sweet (or salty) tradition, right?
It turns out, in all my Christmas pickle googling, that this tradition may not have come from Germany at all!
Many believe the creation of the Christmas pickle myth came from a glass ornament manufacturer in late 19th Century America who had a special collection of vegetable themed Christmas ornaments.
He was having trouble selling the veggie ornaments so he made up a story that was too cute to pass up!
Either way, I love the tradition and the fun, quirky nature of putting a pickle in the tree.
Plus, when guests come over and see a pickle ornament on your tree – it’s great fun to tell them about this fun story!
THE TRADITION: Find the pickle!
Santa will be placing my pickle ornament on the tree on Christmas Eve after he leaves all the presents around for the family. ?
And there will be freshly baked cookies for the child who finds the pickle first!
(My money is on my nephew Caden. He’s very cookie motivated.)
Whether the pickle tradition hails from Germany or it was totally fabricated to sell veggie glass ornaments, it’s fun all the same! And this little crochet pickle is just too cute.
PATTERN
- Get the ad-free, large print, printable PDF pattern from Etsy HERE.
- PIN this pattern to your Pinterest boards for later HERE.
Materials:
–Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton in grass and black
–Safety eyes (CLICK HERE tp see the ones I buy, they’re a great deal on Amazon)
*Do not join your rounds, place a stitch marker at the beginning of the round and move it with each round
With grass make a magic ring, Ch 1, 6 Sc inside ring (6)
Round 2: 2 Sc in each around (12)
Round 3: 2 Sc, Sc in next, repeat around (18)
Round 4: 2 Sc, Sc in next 5, repeat around (21)
Round 5: 2 Sc, Sc in next 6, repeat around (24)
Round 6: Sc in each around (24)
Round 7: Bobble stitch, Sc in next 5, repeat around (24)
Rounds 8-9: Sc around (24)
Round 10: Sc next 2, *bobble stitch, Sc next 5, repeat from * 2 more times, bobble stitch, Sc last 3 (24)
Rounds 11-12: Sc around (24)
Round 13: Repeat Round 7 (24)
Rounds 14-15: Sc around (24)
Round 16: Repeat Round 10 (24)
Rounds 17-18: Sc around (24)
Round 19: Repeat Round 7 (24)
Rounds 20-21: Sc around (24)
-Add safety eyes and sew on the smile with black yarn. I had the magic ring at the top of my pickle and added the eyes between rounds 10 & 11, and added the smile to Round 13
-Stuff with polyfil until firm and continue on, adding more stuffing after each round
Round 22: Sc decrease, Sc next 6, repeat around (21)
Round 23: Sc decrease, Sc next 5, repeat around (18)
Round 24: Sc decrease, Sc in next, repeat around (12)
Round 25: Sc decrease 6 times, finish off and sew up the bottom (6)
Be sure to PIN this pattern to your Pinterest boards!
P.S. Anybody from Germany and have ever heard of the Christmas pickle?
Hi there! Just wondering where are your ornament hooks from? They are gorgeous !
Amazon! These are the ones I got – http://amzn.to/2fehtR2
Did you put how to do bobble stitch? Didn’t know if I was overlooking it.
Here is a great video tutorial! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH_DqrsSbCc
Hi Ashleigh!
I come from Austria and I guess, we have almost the same traditions as our neighbours, the German, but I never heard of this tradition before – pickles don’t act a part on Christmas here! 😀
But I wish you a lot of fun searching your German Christmas Pickle! =))
Sandra