A pickle of a tradition
Somewhere on many American trees hangs a small glass pickle, hidden deep in the branches. Whoever spots it first on Christmas morning gets an extra gift, or first pick of dessert, depending on whose family you ask.
The often-told "German tradition" behind it is almost certainly a marketing invention from 19th-century glass ornament importers — most Germans have never heard of it. True origin or not, the game has stuck around for well over a century in the households that play it.
Real or invented, it's a good excuse to make your family look a little closer at the tree.
