A Pickled Holiday Tradition: The True Story Behind the Pickle Ornament Tradition

 

Figure 1: Pickle Ornament (Source: The New York Times)

 

I had the privilege growing up in a mixed cultural household, and I would delight in learning about the distinctly different cultures my parents came from.  This resulted in both German and American traditions being practiced and passed down in the family.  I have spoken previously about some of the German Christmas traditions that were practiced, such as Advent Calendars and getting treats in our shoes from St. Nicholas.  One tradition that was never practiced was the placement of a glass pickle ornament in the Christmas tree (Figure 1).  I first heard about this seemingly “German” tradition as an adult living in the United States when someone asked me if, as a German-American, I did this.  I recall being very perplexed and wondering if this was something my parents neglected to share with me, leading me to investigate further.  Today’s blog post reveals the results of that investigation and the true origin story of the glass pickle ornament tradition.

 

According to Americans who honor this tradition it is customary to place a glass ornament shaped like a pickle, known as a weihnachtsgurk, deep into the branches of the tree.  The green pickle ornament is meant to be carefully hidden because the first individual who finds it is bestowed a prize.  For children it is a special gift, and for adults it is said that they will have good luck in the coming year.  The pickle ornament tradition seems to be a favorite among families claiming to have German heritage, leading many to believe that this is a German custom that was brought to the United States by German immigrants.  Alas, it is not.

 

When looking into the origins of this tradition there were three origin stories that were linked to it.  Two of them are fairly far fetched but provide some of the contextual evidence for the purpose behind this practice.  The first story links the pickle ornament to St. Nicholas.  He purportedly rescued to boys trapped in a pickling barrel on Christmas Eve.  This is patently false since St. Nicholas is not associated with Christmas but early December holiday traditions in Germany.  It does, however, account for the gifts being given to children part of this custom.  The second story claims that a German immigrant who fought in the Civil War was saved from sudden death by eating a pickle.  This explains why adults associate finding the pickle ornament with good luck.  As fun as these stories are they do not, however, provide the answer for how and why the pickle ornament tradition began and how it became associated with Germany.

 

The truth is that the pickle ornament tradition was a marketing campaign by A.F.W. Woolworth store salesmen.  Beginning in 1890 Woolworth began importing German glass ornaments and selling them in their store.  These were handcraft ornaments created by various craftspeople throughout Germany, but it was artisans from Lauscha, Germany, who specialized in blowing glass Christmas ornaments to resemble fruit, nuts, and various other types of food, including a pickle.  The Woolworth’s salesmen fabricated the tales about the ornaments to entice American customers into buying the seemingly strange ornaments.  They created various stories for each type of ornament, but it appears that only the pickle tale stuck and continues to this day.

 

I realize that many readers of this post may be disappointed to learn that what they thought was a long held German tradition is not, but it should still remain as an important American and family tradition.  If it is one that brings you joy I encourage you to continue with it, but remember its true origins, not the clever and successful market campaign that misrepresents the actual German traditions.

 

Works Cited

Churchill, Alexandra. "The Untold Story of the Christmas Pickle Ornament." 3 November 2021. Martha Stewart. Electronic. 12 November 2022.

No Author. "Why do some people hang ornaments that look like pickles on their Christmas tree?" Tampa Bay Magazine November/December 2011: 91. Electronic.

Russell, Nancy. "German gherkin ornament puts historians in a pickle ." Columbia Daily Tribune 14 December 2006. Electronic.

Rutter, David. "The true story has some folks up a tree, in a real pickle." Post-Tribune (Indiana) 25 December 2005. Electronic.

 

Gift Giving Guide 18: Ideas for Presents for Your Favorite Anthropologist(s)

Every year I dedicate two blog posts to something a little different and fun: gifts for the anthropologist.  I attempt to highlight handmade and/or fair trade items as these most closely mirror the values of anthropology in cultural understanding and preservation.  If you happen to know an anthropologist, someone with interests in anthropology, an anthropology major or graduate, or someone who shares these same values feel free to look into one of these amazing gifts.

 

 Gift Idea for the Cultural Anthropologist

If the cultural anthropologist in your life is into Christmas and good humor then this Christmas themed mug that plays off of the common sociocultural anthropological method of participant observation may be the perfect gift to give!  This item is available through Tin Zilly, and you can customize it by size or add additional flair.

 Gift Idea for the Archaeologist

Continuing on with the theme of Christmas and from the same seller (Tin Zilly) this future pot sherd ornament may be a smash hit with the archaeologist in your life.  We hope that it is smashed long after it has been first gifted, though, but it can continue to be loved by an archaeologist if and when it breaks.

Gift Idea for a Linguistic Anthropologist

You may be sensing a theme thus far, specifically in that Christmas is featured prominently thus far.  To keep with that theme but also deviate slightly here's a gift for a linguistic anthropologist that promotes language and peace.  It may be more secular given the peaceful theme, and the number of languages featured also provides greater applicability to any linguist.  This trinket dish is available through Hope Moon UK.

Gift Idea for a Biological Anthropologist

At this point the Christmas theme is completely severed, much like the digits that make up the bony element of this gift.  Functional Anatomy makes a variety of anatomical gifts, and these metacarpal magnets can help point you in the right direction in pleasing the biological anthropologist you know.  Note, if this is not right feel free to peruse the other options as there is more to choose from with this store!

 

 

Spotlight on Students: Primate Conservation

The following is a guest post featuring the work of a student enrolled in SA 202: Introduction to Anthropology.  This exceptional work highlights the importance of primate conservation.  I hope you find this piece informative and are inspired to make a positive change in the world that will help this and other endangered primates.

 

Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Copyright: Karl Ammann; Source: World Wildlife Federation)

 

By: Trey Sestak

The mention of the country Democratic Republic of Congo may conjure images of dense jungles and the large, exotic animals, such as crocodiles, elephants, and the Eastern lowland gorilla, that live in this area. The Eastern lowland gorilla is known by many names, including the Eastern gorilla, Grauer’s gorilla, or the Gorilla beringei graueri. Unfortunately, this gorilla can also be categorized as critically endangered as assessed by the IUCN (Robins, 2018).

The Eastern lowland gorilla maybe an unfamiliar name, but it is in fact easily recognized. Of all the primates the Eastern lowland gorilla is by far the largest at over four hundred pounds (on average) but unfortunately falls short in height at about five and half feet (Christopher, 2022) As for their physical attributes; they have a muscular physique with dark fur covering their bodies, the exception being to the face, hands, and feet. Male Eastern lowland gorillas are also known to grey from the shoulders down their backs once they have grown between eight and thirteen years of age, giving them the nickname of Silverbacks. This greying stage is not exclusive to just the Grauner’s gorilla but every gorilla species, the silvered backs are associated with the patriarchal leader and is limited to one for every family unit (Christopher, 2022). Despite their size, strength, and in some cases aggression, all gorillas are strictly herbivores with exception to some insects, but despite how they are depicted in popular culture, they do not eat bananas.

Accounting for the condition of the Democratic Republic of Congo, many of these gorillas’ interactions with humans are unfortunately very detrimental, which has led to the Eastern lowland gorilla being placed on the endangered species list. Both intentional and unintentional human interferences are to blame, whether it be habitat destruction from human development or getting caught in humanity’s civil unrest. Nothing harms the Eastern lowland gorilla population more than the bushmeat market, as said on the website Gorilla-Haven, “Driving forces behind a boosted demand for bushmeat (meat from wild animals) include war and violent unrest, as it drives refugees away from their normal occupations and closer to or even into gorilla habitats” (Eastern Lowland Gorilla, 2022:1).

Luckily, several laws were passed to protect animals classified as endangered, of which established national parks to protect the area and prohibits hunting of endangered animals with recent emphasis on the Great Apes (Gorillas-World, 2021). The bushmeat trade is a problem for vast assortments of endangered animals, even with their hunting deemed illegal internationally. There is desperation on the human side as well. The act of war is destructive not just for the foundations of these animals but the people both caught in the middle. Many local authorities who could enforce these laws are often too preoccupied with the conflict to properly act.

But it does not always have to be authoritative intervention alone to help endangered animals, sometimes it is the local communities who take it upon themselves to act, this holds true for examples of community managed forests. As stated in the website Earth.org, “Now that communities own the forests for themselves, they have a better incentive to protect them, motivated by the steady employment, health care, payment of school fees and improved living conditions the Fossey fund provides, Ngobobo said. He added that locals now alert Fossey fund staff when they notice a suspected poacher roaming their forest” (Starling, 2021:1). There are even steps taken by organizations to educate the next generation of school aged children of the importance of their local forests and the animals within (“Why Gorillas Matter”, 2020). The Eastern lowland gorilla’s importance when it comes to the ecological maintenance of their forest home should not be understated especially due to their large size and herbivorous diet, eating large quantities of fruits and other seeded plants adds to the biodiversity of their territories. After consumption, the indigestible seeds are expelled in a new location for growth, the gorilla having unknowingly played the role of dispersal for the sedentary plants that cannot be spread effectively by wind (Starling,2021).

Nonhuman primates are our closest known relatives, even if we are estranged by millions of years. In every interactive study of nonhuman primates, we learn more about ourselves and what we once were. All of nonhuman primates should be spared extinction, their niches are unique to them and important to the dispersal of new foliage and in some cases sustenance to natural predators. If not for the benefit of every primate’s ecological place, then just an act of preserving our relatives and past should be enough reason. It would be easy if the fighting just stopped and the gorillas were left alone, but that is unrealistic at the current moment. Instead, all that can really be done are the acts of the few, helping these animals through good will alone and have faith in a bright future for not just these gorillas but every animal who needs help.

                                    Work Cited

Robbins, Martha, et al. “IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Eastern Gorilla.” IUCN Red List of          Threatened Species, 2 Aug. 2018, Retrieved October 4, 2022 www.iucnredlist.org/species/39994/115576640.

Christopher, Ssekanyula. “Why Called the Silverback.” Gorilla Info Hub, 22 Feb. 2022,              Accessed 17 Oct. 2022, from gorillainfohub.com/activities/why-called-the-silverback/.

“Eastern Lowland Gorilla.” Gorilla Heaven, 19 Apr. 2022, Accessed October 5, 2022, from        

https://www.gorilla-haven.org/eastern-lowland-gorilla/

“Why Gorillas Matter- Save Gorillas. Save the Planet.” Dian Fossey, 23 Sept. 2020, Accessed October 5, 2022, from gorillafund.org/uncategorized/why-gorillas-matter-save-gorillas-save-the-planet/.

Starling, Marlowe. “In DRC, Community Ownership of Forests Helps Guard the Grauer’s Gorilla.”         Mongabay Environmental News, 6 July 2021, Accessed 16 Oct. 2022,         https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/in-drc-community-ownership-of-forests-helps-guard-the           grauers-gorilla/.

 

Spotlight on Students: Primate Conservation

The following is a guest post featuring the work of a student enrolled in SA 202: Introduction to Anthropology.  This exceptional work highlights the importance of primate conservation.  I hope you find this piece informative and are inspired to make a positive change in the world that will help this and other endangered primates.

 

 By: Gina Wilson

Buffy-tufted-ear marmoset (Source: Arkive.org; Photographer: Savio Bruno)

 

Up in the mountains of Brazil lives a primate called the Buffy-tufted-ear marmoset, with the genus name Callithrix penicillata. These small marmosets have gothic-like features, a ringed-tailed, and beautiful hair. Though, sadly they are going extinct from an array of threats. Some of these threats are in the process of being remedied, but others are not so easily fixed.

The Buffy-tufted-ear marmoset are small marmosets are described as having tufts of white fur along the sides of their face with a skull-like shape on their face, which is why they were given the name “little skull marmoset” (Hall). Heim has described them to also have “short snouts with flat noses, round yellow eyes, and a down-turned mouth that suggests eternal dissatisfaction”. These interesting facial features are the reason I choose to research them. Some other distinctive features that set them apart from other primates are the lack of a prehensile tail, small incisors, and claws rather than nails (Heim). Their small incisors do not allow them to gouge trees and branches to get gum, so they get their nutrition in other ways. Their diet consists of bugs, small creatures like frogs and snails, cacti, flowering plants, and fungi; with fungi making up about 65% of their diet (Zundell). These marmosets are located within the mountains of south-eastern Brazil, giving them the third name of “mountain marmoset” (Hall). These mountains are cold due to their high altitude and are spread across the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro.

The factors that are causing the endangerment of the Buffy-tufted-ear marmoset are sickness, human hunting and capturing, and the destruction of the forests. Yellow fever is a disease that is spread by mosquitos and primates, and Heim states that an outbreak of yellow fever impacted more than 7,000 primates from 2016-2017, including approximately 260 Buffy-tufted-ear marmosets. Human hunting and capturing have affected these marmosets by illegally trading primates as pets, bushmeat, and primate body parts (Estrada). Along with this is the destruction of forests which has been affecting many different primates and other animals. About 7% of the mountain forest habitat in south-eastern Brazil is left after being altered and urbanized by humans. This 7% is even more difficult to manage for the Buffy-tufted-ear marmoset with the colonizing of other marmoset species (Stevenson). Some of these colonizing marmosets are being released to this area from the illegal pet trade.

Some ways we can help this species and prevent their extinction are by surveying the areas they live, monitoring what they are doing, and developing effective techniques to increase the population. Surveying can help with understanding what is happening to this species, whether they are being hurt by an invasive species or a disease (Heim). Monitoring the activities of the species and assisting with their population numbers by starting breeding programs could also help with avoiding extinction. Developing effective techniques can help to control the growing numbers of invasive marmosets in the area as well as to help avoid hybridization (Heim).

            It is important to protect this species, and other species, from extinction because they affect the environment. Buffy-tufted-ear marmosets feed on an array of different fruits and insects. When they feed on fruits, they are helping spread the seeds and assist with the growth of plants, and when feeding on insects they are helping control the insect populations (Hall). This species, as well as other species, are important parts of the biodiversity and provide support to forest regeneration and the health of the forest’s ecosystem (Estrada). Primates also help us with medical research and aid us with our own population by helping us understand different diseases. Without primates, this world would be very different.

 

Zundell, Julie. "Atlantic Marmosets: Common, Black-Tufted, White-Headed & Buffy-Headed." Study.com, 18 February 2018, www.study.com/academy/lesson/atlantic-marmosets-common-black-tufted-white-headed-buffy-headed.html.

Estrada, Alejandro, et al. “Impending Extinction Crisis of the World’s Primates: Why ... - Science.” Science Advances, 18 Jan. 2017, www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1600946.

Heim, Rachel. “Buffy-Tufted-Ear Marmoset, Callithrix Aurita: New England Primate Conservancy.” New England Primate, 26 Nov. 2019, www.neprimateconservancy.org/buffy-tufted-ear-marmoset/.

Hall, James. “The Battle to Save the Buffy Tufted Marmoset of Brazil.” Earth.Org, 4 Apr. 2022, www.earth.org/buffy-tufted-marmoset-of-brazil/.

Stevenson, Miranda. “Conservationists Rally to Save the Buffy-Tufted-Ear Marmoset.” World Land Trust, 25 June 2015, https://www.worldlandtrust.org/news/2015/06/conservationists-rally-save-buffy-tufted-ear-marmoset/.