One tradition I have in my family is finding the pickle ornament on the Christmas tree. The ornament has been in my family for over one hundred years. It was brought over from my mother's great grandmother, who is from Germany. The tradition says that who ever finds the pickle in the tree first would get to pick which present they wanted.
Every year, as my family would try to find the pickle I would always see my mom start to cry. I never realized on how much this tradition meant to her and to our family. I always thought of it as just finding a pickle hidden in a tree, but then I saw how many people have been around the pickle and, all the tradition behind it. To my family the pickle is something very special and the tradition will continue into the future.
The pickle is made of glass and has a green tint to it. The color is starting to fade away, but that is because it is so old. The fading colors make the pickle have much more meaning to it. It also shows that many people have used it before my family. When my mom hides the pickle in the tree it blends in so much that it practically disappears. It's so hard to find sometimes!.
Once my mom has hidden the pickle, she will let my sister and I start to look for it. We would start ripping the tree apart to find the hidden pickle. Until finally one of us does. After we have found the pickle, my mom will bring over two gifts which we will get to choose from. One year the two gifts was a gift certificate and also a nutcracker. This year was a little different. There were two envelopes; each of them had a one hundred-dollar bill in it. My sister and I were very pleased to receive that gift.
Finding the pickle means so much to my family and I. There is so much tradition behind the pickle and it brings tears to my mother's eyes every year we look for it. I know that when I have kids I hope that they will realize how much history is behind the pickle.