Disney World has a TON of souvenirs to choose from on your Disney vacation.
Spaceship Earth
We bet there is a souvenir in the parks for everyone. Of course, we’ve seen different trends in the merchandise, like millennials and Gen Z buying the Disney friendship bracelets. But we think the Boomer generation are the ones buying this obscure Disney souvenir and you might even be getting it from them for Christmas.
There’s only one place you’ll find this item on Disney property and it’s inside the Germany pavilion. So let’s head in and see what it is our grandparents are loving.
Germany Pavillion
We’re looking for a Weihnachtsgurke. Don’t know what that is? Don’t worry, we’ll talk you through it. It’s a Christmas pickle! For many families, Christmas morning starts with a hunt for a pickle ornament, deemed the Christmas pickle, on the tree. The first person who finds the pickle gets the first gift, and bragging rights until next Christmas.
Germany Christmas tree
Most people are under the impression that ye olde Christmas Pickle is a German tradition. Its name alone seems like a pretty dead giveaway, doesn’t it? However, according to The New York Times, the Weihnachtsgurke is all but unknown in Germany. A German polling agency found that 91% of people had never even heard of it. So how did it make its home in the Germany pavilion? And what’s the meaning behind the pickle?
Pickle Ornament Story
According to Southern Living, there are a few different myths. According to one legend, it was inspired by a German-American soldier who was taken prisoner during the Civil War. Starving, he begged a guard to give him one last pickle before he died. The pity pickle gave him the mental and physical strength to live on. Another is in the 1840s, German glassblowers were churning out ornaments shaped like fruits, nuts, and possibly pickles. By the 1880s, F. W. Woolworth Company was importing them and telling their German origin story.
Pickle Ornament
So why do we think Boomers are buying up all the pickles? Well, simply for tradition. They can pass these on to their children and grandchildren for a fun way to celebrate the holiday season every year. We love the idea of this tradition even if there’s such a mystery around it! We’ve even spotted some of these pickle ornaments with Mickey ears and Santa hats on them.
Christmas Pickle Ornament
©Amazon
If you aren’t heading to EPCOT anytime soon, we found a pickle ornament you can get shipped straight to your home. We love that this has the story of the pickle inside of its box to help share the tradition.
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It’s a tradition in Georgia and with Midwesterners who migrated from the South. You can buy them anytime of the year in Savannah.