Christmas cucumber
A Christmas Pickle is made of glass produced Christmas tree decorations in the form of a pickle . In the United States it is a Christmas custom to hang the Christmas tree with such a "Christmas Pickle" hidden between the branches. Due to its green color, the cucumber is not that easy to spot. The first person to discover the Christmas cucumber will receive an additional gift. The glassblowing shops offer different sizes to adapt the level of difficulty to the age of the children and the size of the tree.
The roots of the custom are unclear. In the United States, this custom is described as an ancient German tradition. In most German-speaking regions, however, the Christmas cucumber is unknown. The catalog of Lyra Fahrrad-Werke from Prenzlau in Brandenburg from 1909 also includes a Christmas cucumber in its Christmas tree decorations. It is unclear whether the Christmas cucumbers that have appeared in German-speaking countries in recent times can be traced back to an almost forgotten local tradition or a takeover from the United States.
Web links
- Christina Franzisket: What is the cucumber doing on the Christmas tree? Article in the Frankfurter Rundschau from December 12, 2014
- Oh cucumber tree, oh cucumber tree ... on tagesschau.de, archived from the original on January 7, 2012 ; Retrieved November 9, 2013 .
- Do you know the tradition around the Christmas cucumber?
Individual evidence
- ↑ Description of the Christmas Pickles [1]
- ↑ Report on the cucumber Christmas tree ball [2]
- ↑ Homepage of the glass blowing company, which produces, among other things, "Christmas tree cucumbers" [3]
- ↑ German Myths (English)
- ↑ http://www.mainpost.de/regional/wuerzburg/In-Sommerhausen-kuesst-der-Nikolaus-das-Christkind-wach;art736,7203908