The Christmas Pickle is an American tradition related to the Christmas tree. In this tradition, a family decorates its Christmas tree with ornaments including one glass pickle. On Christmas morning, the first child to find the pickle on the tree would get a special gift and would supposedly have a year of good fortune.
This tradition is commonly believed by Americans to come from Germany, but this is probably a myth. In fact, the tradition is widely unknown in Germany although it is sometimes mentioned in conjunction with Poland where it is manufactured for example by Varsovia. This might mean that it derived from western Poland which pre-World War II had many Germans. Theoretically, Polish-Germans would have carried the tradition on to England and the United States, for example to Chicago.
I don’t think I saw one pickle ornament when I lived in
Germany! LOL! Lotsa mushrooms, though...red with white
polka dots!