Tag Archives: christmas

The Christmas Tree Pickle

Nationality: American

Age: 21

Occupation: Student 

Residence: Mason, OH, USA

Date: 4/29/2025

Language: English

Description

It’s a ritual that my family does on Christmas morning. It’s one we used to do, but now we don’t do, um. Because we got older, but basically there’s this old. I think German or Austrian tradition where you would, uh, hang a pickle on a Christmas tree. Okay, and whoever finds the pickle gets to open the first present. And so, in order to, uh. Uphold that tadition. Uh, my family had had I think we still have it. I think it broke eventually, but we have a pickle ornament that we would hide amongst all of the other ornaments. My parents would hide it Christmas night and then Christmas morning, and, whichever of me and my siblings found the pickle first got to open the first present and the Christmas day starts with the the finding of the pickle. 

Subject’s Opinion

Interviewer: What do you think the pickle meant? Why a pickle? Why do you think that’s the case?

Subject: I don’t know. It probably has something to do with, maybe… the smell of it. Oh, I don’t know. I, I feel like it could have to do with the smell of it. Um, because it’s like a sort of like, briny, sort of, like, very strong smell coming from the Christmas tree, and some sort of purging of that from the tree. Sounds like it could be something significant, but I’m also completely talking out of my ass. 

Interviewer: What do you think then having that thing does to your family Christmas mornings?

Subject: It makes it feel more like…I guess something is beginning, like a ritual is starting. It’s like if we just sort of woke up and started hacking at the presents like crazy, which is what we do now, it doesn’t really feel like there was something significant beginning. It’s just sort of like, there’s a clear through line from the last day into the next, but there is a significant, okay, we’re all coming here and initiating something. And it can be its own little thing, so you find the pickle, then it’s the present opening ceremony, and then once all of it is done. It is the acknowledgment between a group of people that something is beginning that is separate from what has happened before.

Analysis

The Christmas tree pickle seems oddly specific and clearly rooted in a greater cultural heritage, but the subject expressed he had no idea where the ritual came from. What is observable is the effect of the ritual, how it gives order and structure to the family’s Christmas mornings, in turn creating a narrative that concretizes meaning and consolidates memory as it unfolds. As all rituals do, the act of finding the pickle allows the family to embody meaning from the past and use symbolic actions to bring unique meaning to the warmth and joy of Christmas mornings.

Christmas Songs

Age: 19
Occupation: Student

Context: “I grew up in a big Christmas family. We went to church, decorated every part of the house, and sang every Christmas song there was. Singing wasn’t just for caroling; it happened throughout the season. Every year, the same songs, the same excitement. My parents were especially big on the ‘magic’ of it. They were really believed in ‘the magic of Christmas’ and really believed that it brought everyone closer together. I personally don’t know about that but I think it’s nice that even just for a little bit or just one day, everyone gets even closer for the holidays. There’s one song specifically called Must Be Santa, and it was so annoying, but we used to sing it at church every year.”

Analysis: Singing Christmas songs is a ritual that blends both religious and secular traditions. In families like Anne’s, it reinforces seasonal joy, community belonging, and shared memory. A song like Must Be Santa, though often seen as lighthearted or even annoying, takes on symbolic importance through repetition; especially in a church setting where it bridges sacred and playful elements. The act of singing together, becomes an expression of belief, nostalgia, and identity. It binds participants to cultural rhythms and holiday expectations. Even “annoying” songs serve as touchstones of collective memory, especially when tied to family or religious routines.

Christmas Crowns, Cracker Jokes, and “Reindeer Poop”

Word of Mouth From my Mother

If you didn’t notice son, Christmas is a carefully choreographed tradition–I like to think of it as a mix of cozy ritual, a bit of British custom, and some parental magic. Every year, we manage to host your aunts, uncles, grandparents, and family friends under one roof, crowding them around a long dinner table for a meal that never changes: your father’s signature roast, buttery potatoes, and whatever else[she talked about as these dishes seeming to appear out of nowhere but feeling like they’ve always belonged]…

…You remember the main custom, before the meal begins, we all pop Christmas crackers, wear the paper crowns, and tell the corny jokes or trivia questions. Everyone has to wear their crown, no exceptions. [Something of a silent rule.] Inevitably, [Uncle name] brings the energy to the meal as he tries to guess the answer to someone else’s riddle before they finish reading it. It’s chaotic, silly, and comforting–exactly how it’s supposed to be…

…Remember on Christmas eve, we’d leave out a plate of cookies and a glass of milk for Santa, and you and your sister would go to bed, your father and I would leave out a few wrinkled dates in the front yard as “reindeer poop.” We’d also make sure that before Every Christmas morning, no matter how old you two[me and my sister] got, the milk would be half-drunk, the cookies nibbled, and the dates scattered. Even now, when you all know the “truth,” we still put the plate and dates out. It’s tradition…

Context

I interviewed my mom about our family’s Christmas rituals, and she lit up almost immediately. “It’s the one time of year when everyone is just… there,” she said. For her, Christmas was always about creating a sense of continuity–blending traditions from her own childhood with the new ones she and my dad created when we were young. The paper crowns and Christmas crackers come from my dad’s British side of the family, and they’ve been part of every holiday she can remember. “You can’t not wear the crown. It’s just part of the meal,” she joked.

She described how she and my dad would take turns arranging the Santa plate late at night–taking a careful bite of the cookies, sipping the milk just right, and tossing a few dates in the yard to complete the illusion.

These rituals weren’t grand or showy, but they were performed with deep consistency. Even now, with the kids grown, my parents still go through the motions–not because we believe, but because we remember.

Analysis

This Christmas tradition is an excellent example of domestic folklore: habitual, symbolic acts carried out within the family to affirm identity, belonging, and memory. While none of the individual actions–crackers, roast, Santa plates–are unique on their own, the specific combination of these elements, repeated year after year, becomes a form of narrative performance that binds the family together.

The Christmas crackers and paper crowns reflect a cultural carryover from British holiday customs, adapted into the family’s American context. They serve as both props and prompts–each one delivering not just a joke but a shared experience. The insistence on everyone wearing the crowns transforms a simple object into a badge of belonging, and the ritualized groaning at jokes adds a performative dimension to the meal.

The Santa cookies and “reindeer poop” represent another key aspect of holiday folklore: magical realism within childhood belief systems. These actions deliberately blur the line between fiction and reality, giving children something to believe in while also offering parents a way to perform care and wonder. Even as belief fades, the actions remain–now functioning not as proof of Santa, but as proof of love and continuity.

In this sense, the tradition has matured alongside the family: once a tool of imagination, it now functions as a nostalgic ritual that reaffirms connection across time. The ongoing performance of the Santa plate–even when no one is fooled–embodies the essence of folklore: shared meaning enacted again and again, not because we need to believe, but because we want to remember. It’s part of the ties that bind our family together and I will definitely continue this tradition–if not add onto it–with my own kids when the time comes.

Simbang Gabi

Age: 89
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Corona, CA
Language: English, Tagalog

Text

“I was born in the Philippines and grew up there. One ritual that stood out to me was Simbang Gabi. Every December 16th, we would begin nine days of dawn Masses leading up to Christmas. We woke up before the sun, wrapped ourselves in warm clothes, and walked to church with the stars still out. We called this Simbang Gabi, which means ‘night mass’ even though it happened just before sunrise. This originally was for farmers so they could worship before going into the fields. Even though this is a novena, it always felt like a festival too. After mass we would have puto bumbong, bibingka, and salabat.

When I moved to the United States back in the day, I missed Simbang Gabi. Eventually,I found a Filipino church group and started celebrating it again. Sometimes it’s at night instead of dawn since people work during the day. It’s not exactly the same, but the spirit is there.

Simbang Gabi is not just about going to church. It’s about preparing your heart for Jesus Christ. It’s about hope and light in the darkness. And every year, we do it again, not because we have to but because it reminds us who we are.”

Context

This narrative was shared by an 89-year-old Filipino woman currently living in Southern California. She was born and raised in the Philippines and immigrated to the United States around the 1960s. This story was told as a reflective oral account of the Simbang Gabi ritual, a Filipino Catholic tradition she participated in throughout her life, both in the Philippines and in the diaspora. 

This informant is a respected elder in her community and has acted as a cultural bearer for her children and grandchildren. She continues to practice elements of the ritual at home and at church with her church group.

My Interpretation

From a folklore perspective, Simbang Gabi functions as both a life-cycle and calendar ritual, which is tied to the Advent season and culminates on Christmas Eve. it is a clear example of intangible cultural heritage that is passed through oral tradition, communal memory, and ritual performance. The informant’s account also demonstrates how folklore adapts across geographies while retaining its symbolic core and responding to the needs of diasporic communities.

The ritual serves multiple functions since it is devotional, communal, performative, and sensory. It creates a liminal space between night and day, preparing the faithful spiritually while reaffirming cultural bonds. The informant’s memory of the Mass as both a sacred and celebratory event illustrates the blurring of ritual and festival, which is a common feature in folk tradition. This narrative also highlights how older members of a cultural group serve as active bearers of tradition, keeping practices alive even in new cultural contexts. 

Reading The Night Before Christmas

Text: “My entire life, even for adulthood, whenever I’m with my family on Christmas Eve we all sit around right before we go to sleep and read the book The Night Before Christmas. It’s been a little tradition/ritual that we’ve done my entire life and even though I’m an adult, when my family is all together we still do it every single Christmas Eve. Why do we do it? I’m not sure – it’s something that my mom introduced to us as kids, but even as an adult it makes me giddy and really bolsters the Christmas spirit and I just love it very much.”

Context: The informant, an Event Planner, shared this as a long-standing family ritual that takes place every Christmas Eve. It began in their early childhood, when their mom introduced the tradition of reading The Night Before Christmas aloud before going to bed. Even now, as an adult, the informant still participates in the tradition whenever the whole family is together. They associate the ritual with excitement, comfort, and the feeling of being fully immersed in the Christmas spirit. While the informant doesn’t know exactly why it started, they clearly feel emotionally connected to the experience and see it as a defining part of their family’s holiday celebration.

Analysis: This is a great example of a holiday ritual that’s lasted well into adulthood. Reading The Night Before Christmas as a family might seem simple, but the fact that it happens every Christmas Eve gives it a lot of meaning. It’s not just about the book—it’s about the feeling of being together, holding onto that sense of childhood joy, and setting the tone for the holiday.

Even though it’s a super well-known story, the way this family uses it makes it feel personal. It’s part of their version of Christmas. The fact that the informant still looks forward to it and says it makes them feel “giddy” shows how traditions like this can stick, even when you’re grown up. It also speaks to how folklore doesn’t have to be ancient or mysterious—it can be as familiar as a bedtime story passed down in a way that makes people feel connected and grounded in something bigger than themselves.

Informant Info

Race/Ethnicity: White

Age: 25

Occupation: Event Planner

Residence: Oak Park, CA

Date of Performance: April 22, 2025

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Relationship: Sister