aka: Plant-Based Holiday Traditions

Okay….so maybe I’m stretching it a little to make this subject fit the plant-based theme. But, I thought these traditions were interesting and wanted to share what I learned. 😉 Plus, oranges and pickles truly are plant-based!🍊🥒

Oranges in the toe of my stocking

When I was a kid, my grandma and grandpa made the rounds on Christmas day, visiting all their kids and grandkids, nieces and nephews. The night before, they had hung stockings for each of us in their cabin in the mountains (at least that’s what I imagined) for Santa to fill with goodies. The next morning they delivered them to all the excited kids. The stockings were always filled with nuts (in the shell), hard ribbon candy, and a big, juicy orange in the toe of the red felt stocking.

I never really thought about the reason why I always found an orange in my stockings until recently. The other day, as I was purchasing 14 oranges (to help Santa) for the toes of the 14 stockings hanging by our fireplace, I started thinking about it and got curious. So, I started doing some research and found some possible explanations.

Saint Nicholas and his bags of gold

There is a legend that tells of Saint Nicholas of Myra (present-day Turkey), an early Christian bishop during the time of the Roman Empire. He became known for his generosity toward the less fortunate. One story tells of a poor man with three daughters who had no dowries and were most likely not going to find husbands. Generous Saint Nicholas wanted to help, but the father was too proud to accept charity. So, Nicholas waited until after dark and then tossed bags of gold through an open window into the family’s home. The bags landed right in the stockings left by the fire to dry. As the story has been told and retold through the years, the bags of gold are sometimes said to be balls of gold. The oranges in stockings are supposed to represent the balls of gold.

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind finding a ball of gold in my stocking on Christmas morning! 😜 Better than a lump of coal!

Special treat during Great Depression

Another idea I discovered had to do with the Great Depression of the 1930’s. During that time money was tight and families were often struggling to make ends meet. There weren’t always funds to buy presents for the children, so receiving an orange in the toe of a stocking was a special gift. Plus, one couldn’t purchase oranges all the time like we can now, so having that orange on Christmas morning was a wonderful, sweet treat.

My grandparents lived through the Great Depression and I’m pretty sure that is the reason they gave us oranges each year. 🧡 As for me, I do it to pass down the tradition my grandparents started for us.

Why is there a pickle on the tree?

In this tradition, on Christmas eve an ornament that looks like a pickle is hidden in the tree. Then on Christmas morning, the first child to find it gets to open the first present or sometimes a special additional gift from Saint Nicholas. It is also said to bring a year of good luck. It’s a fun tradition and the kids always get excited to find the pickle. However the origin of this custom is curious.

Deutsch Weihnachtsgurke

Until I started doing research on the German Christmas Pickle, I thought it was an old tradition from Deutschland (Germany). However, it seems the people of Germany aren’t even familiar with this custom. Hmm…?? There are some thoughts on the German connection though. One has to do with the exporting of glass-blown ornaments and another is a story about an immigrant.

The Pickle Cure

In this tale, a German immigrant named John Lower, was born in the Bavarian region in 1842. He came to the USA and fought in our Civil War. According to his great, great-granddaughter, he was captured and imprisoned during the war. During that time he became very ill and convinced a guard to give him one pickle before he died. The pickle seemed to have cured him. After he returned home he started hiding a pickle in the family’s Christmas tree to commemorate his good fortune. He said whomever found the pickle would be blessed with a year of good luck just as he had been blessed.

Curious that he would choose a pickle as his final meal!?? 😜

Woolworth’s Ornaments

Another German connection may have come from the mid-1800’s when glass-blown ornaments were first created in Lauscha, Germany. In the 1880’s, the Woolworth stores in the United States starting importing the glass Christmas tree ornaments. Included in those were fruits, vegetables, and possibly, pickles. It could be that the origin of the Christmas pickle tradition may have been a marketing plan that coincided with the importing of the ornaments.

Whatever the German connection – the most interesting part is the fact that in Germany they haven’t heard of this nor do they carry out this Christmas custom. I did learn that today, Lauscha exports Christmas Pickles to the USA along with the traditional “German” story. So, someone got smart and decided to market the idea!

Pickle Town

The small town of Berrien Springs, Michigan (population 2000) is “The Christmas Pickle Capital of the World”. They hold an annual festival where the Grand Dillmeister passes out fresh pickles along a parade route. And they sell Christmas pickle ornaments and pickle earrings. One can even try their chocolate-covered sweet pickles!

The final word on Oranges & Pickles in December

While these tales (or the plant-based tradition part) may or may not be believable, the thing that really matters is building family memories. Old traditions and new ones help to build bonds and bring families together.

Do you celebrate Hannukah or Christmas? Or maybe it’s Festivus​, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa or Ōmisoka​? I would love to know some of your family traditions around the holidays of December. Please share them below and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Thank you for sharing! 💚