Traditions Surrounding Christmas Ornaments
For those who celebrate Christmas, decorating their home and Christmas trees with ornaments is one of the most enjoyable ways to capture the magic and excitement of the Christmas holidays. The Christmas tree is often explained as a Christianization of pagan tradition and ritual that surrounded the Winter Solstice, which included the use of evergreen boughs and pagan tree worship. The modern Christmas tree tradition is believed to have begun in Germany in the 18th century and was brought to England by Queen Victoria. It eventually made its way over to America.
Because of mainly Puritan influence, Christmas was not widely celebrated in the United States until the 1800s. Because of this, decorated trees did not become widely popular until people saw the ornaments brought to America by families emigrating from Germany and England in the 1840s. Some historians record that the Hessians, German mercenaries who were fighting in the Revolutionary War, introduced Americans to decorated trees.
Many unusual Christmas ornament traditions and stories have evolved from the German families. The Germany tradition of hanging a Christmas glass ornament pickle on the Christmas tree is the oddest German Christmas ornament story, some say that it is just a myth. The pickle ornament was always the last ornament to be hung on the Christmas tree, with the parents hiding the pickle glass ornament in the Christmas tree among all the other ornaments. When the children were allowed to view the Christmas tree they would begin gleefully searching for the Christmas glass ornament pickle. The children knew that whoever found the pickle ornament first would be lucky enough to receive an extra little gift and would be the one to begin the unwrapping of the Christmas gifts.