The Pickle

When I was growing up, my best friend's family always hid a pickle in their Christmas tree. I always thought that it was just the coolest thing. For those of you who don't know, the pickle on the tree comes from a German tradition. According to this tradition, “A very old Christmas eve tradition in Germany was to hide a pickle [ornament] deep in the branches of the family Christmas Tree. The parents hung the pickle last after all the other ornaments were in place. In the morning they knew the most observant child would receive an extra gift from St. Nicholas. The first adult who finds the pickle traditionally gets good luck for the whole year.”

As a kid, I can remember trying to spot the pickle in the Richardson's tree. The other day, I was joking back and forth on Facebook with the girls about whether or not they still have pickles on their trees even as adults. Well, of course they do!

Yesterday, I came home to find a small package in my mailbox. I opened it up, and inside was my very own pickle to hang on my tree! I was so excited. Mrs. R must have seen our conversations back and forth and she decided to send me one. Now let me stop here to say, that Mrs. R is one of the most kind and considerate people I know - it was so like her to think of sending this to me. She was the person who used to send all of us "kids" care packages in college and so on...

So, here is my pickle from Mrs. R!

Something like this just goes to show that taking a little time to think about someone and make them feel special can really make a person's day!

Thanks, Mrs. R!