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 The Christmas Pickle
For example, some German American families have Christmas pickle
ornaments, but the origin of this tradition is not certain. In “A
Fuzzy History of the Christmas Pickle” Matt Hershberger says, “St.
Nick (or someone in the family) hides the pickle on Christmas Eve.”
Then, “the first to find it either gets an extra present, the right
to open the first present, or good luck for a year.”
There is more than one story on how the tradition originated. Some
sources say no one in Germany seems to have heard them.
Hershberger says the tradition may have been created by Woolworths.
In the 1880s, Woolworth’s imported “German-made glass-blown
Christmas ornaments” and among those shaped like fruits or
vegetables was a pickle.
With a surplus of pickle ornaments, someone at Woolworth’s or
possibly another retailer put a card on the ornament explaining the
traditions. Though the origin is questionable, it appears some
families have decided to make the pickle ornament part of their
Christmas tradition.
Santa
Some countries have a Santa Claus like figure with a different name.
In France, he is called Pere Noel. According to a history of French
Christmas legends, “Pere Noel or Papa Noel gives presents to
children who behave well throughout the year.”
Pere Noel “is accompanied by Pere Fouettard, his dark alter ego
cohort, who informs Pere Noel as to which children have been good
and which ones behaved badly during the year.”
The legend says Pere Noel travels around the world on his donkey or
on his sleigh pulled by reindeers and stops at houses to leave
presents for good children.
Instead of cookies left for Santa, “The French fill shoes and logs
with treats for Pere Noel's donkey or reindeers on Christmas Eve.”
Their hope is that Pere Noel will be pleased and leave gifts.
Adding romance to the holiday
The English people are also credited with creating the custom of
kissing under the mistletoe. Sources say in the past they would hang
up mistletoe plants on their doorways or their ceilings and berries
would still be attached.
Whoever passed under the mistletoe would have to kiss someone they
loved or who was probably available. For young women, kissing under
the mistletoe was a big deal.
Legends say, “If a young unmarried woman refused to kiss any man
under the mistletoe, she would jeopardize her future success with
finding a husband.”
Food, food, food
No matter where and how people celebrate Christmas, food is often a
part of tradition. These traditions have religious or secular
meanings.
Some Italians and Italian-Americans celebrate the ‘Feast of the
seven fishes,’ which appears to be connected to Catholic traditions.
An article ‘The origins of the feast’ says, “The ancient tradition
of eating fish on Christmas Eve dates from the Roman Catholic custom
of abstinence from meat and dairy products on the eve of certain
holidays, including Christmas.” The seven courses also have Catholic
connections “rooted back in ancient times”…[which] can be connected
to multiple Catholic symbols: in fact, the seven seems repeated more
than 700 times in the Bible.” In Catholic tradition, there are the
seven sacraments, seven days of creation and seven deadly sins.
It was in the early part of the 20th century when the feast of the
seven fishes became an official tradition. Then, “Italian-American
families rekindled the Old Country's Christmas Eve tradition by
preparing a seven-course seafood meal.” This meal “made them feel
close to their homes, while celebrating the sea, a major connection
in Italy.”
In Australia, the food served at some Christmas feasts looks a bit
different than what Americans might consider a traditional dinner.
Since December is summer for Australians, some have cold meat and
salad.
Sheila Randall, whose family has lived in Australia for many years,
says salads may include pasta salad, potato salad, rice salad,
beetroot and lettuce salad.
Alongside the salads are slices of cold meat. Randall says these
often include chicken, lamb, ham and silverside (corned beef).
Randall says, “many Australians think it is very festive to
celebrate with seafood such as cold prawns and crayfish.” Others
have a barbeque at the beach where they cook sausages, lamb chops
and steaks. The salads are side dishes.
There are also those, who Randall says, are “traditionalists” and
“no matter the weather…have a hot roast dinner.” Randall says it may
include ham, turkey, roast potatoes, pumpkin, cauliflower, cheese
and peas. For dessert, they may serve the meringue-based Pavlova or
Christmas pudding with custard.
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The Randall family has lived in both Australia and
America. Therefore, Randall says they like to have traditional
American foods but mix it with some Australian foods.
Because their family is so large, Randall said they
usually eat outside under the verandah like many other Australian
families.
Russians have a special Christmas Eve feast, but for Orthodox
Christians, Christmas Eve falls on January 6.
A blog on Living Orthodox Traditions says the dinner table is often
set with symbols like hay under the linen tablecloth and grain in
the straw. The hay signifies the hay in the manger the baby Jesus
was placed in. The grain is “thrown in the straw to represent the
abundance of Christ’s coming.” The linen tablecloth is a symbol of
what Jesus was wrapped in.
This feast ends a 40-day fast that excludes meat and dairy products.
The supper usually has 12 courses symbolizing the twelve apostles.
Living Orthodox Traditions says foods served often include “barley,
honey, stewed prunes, pierogi, sauerkraut, potatoes, lima beans,
garlic, Lenten bread, mushroom soup and salt.” These serve as
“reminders that life is both bitter and sweet” and “the work of each
day throughout the current year was required to truly celebrate
Christ’s coming.”
Christmas pudding is often part of the traditional English Christmas
feast. A fun part of the tradition is to place a silver coin in plum
pudding. An article on Christmas pudding traditions says the idea is
that “whoever finds the coin will have good luck.”
In Mexico, they prepare and eat Rosca de Reyes, a traditional sweet
bread. This bread is served on Epiphany, which marks the end of the
holiday season.
Similar to the King Cake in France and the United States, Rosca De
Reyes is eaten on January 6 in Spain, Mexico and other Latin
American countries during the celebration of the Día de Reyes (Three
Kings Day or the Epiphany), commemorating the day when the three
wise men visited baby Jesus.
One article says the bread is “traditionally topped with dried fig
strips, candied lemon peel slices, chopped candied cherries, and
confectioner sugar.”
Hidden inside the Rosca de Reyes is one or more Baby Jesus
figurines, symbolizing the need of a safe place for Jesus hidden
away from King Herod. When the bread is divided in slices, each
person must inspect their slice. Traditionally in Mexico, whoever
gets the figurine must bring tamales for everyone else during the
celebration of the Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas) in February.
In China, though not all celebrate Christmas, stores are often
decorated for Christmas. They do not have special traditions, but
some celebrate the day by getting together with family and friends
like many Americans do.
Shanshan Wang, who was one of the Chinese exchange students at
Lincoln College during the 2019-2020 school year likes to celebrate
Christmas. Wang says she celebrates partly because she is a foreign
language learner and [celebrating] can help her know the foreign
cultures. When Wang celebrates, she usually goes to the cinema to
watch movies and hang out with friends.
The shopping malls sometimes have discounts too. Wang said they can
buy something they enjoy. She may also eat a big meal with friends.
These are just some of the ways people around the world celebrate
the holidays. As you can see, special traditions are part of holiday
celebrations.
Resources:
Hershberger, Matt “A
Fuzzy History of the Christmas Pickle.”
https://www.10best.com/interests/food-culture/christmas-pickle-ornament-lie-not-german-tradition/
Pere Noel Daddy Christmas - History, Legends (indobase.com)
Feast of the Seven Fishes: Origin and Traditional
Recipes | Eataly
Living Orthodox
Traditions
Orthodoxtraditionsblogspot.com
What is The Tradition of Mistletoe at Christmas –
Xmas Traditions – Christmas Genius
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