She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet
listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations
that had to be made.
Does your family celebrate the tradition of the Christmas
pickle? Have you heard of it? The Christmas pickle is a glass pickle ornament,
which is hidden in the boughs of the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. The first
child to find the pickle on Christmas morning gets a special treat or an extra
gift or gets to open the first gift, you decide. I guess you could say that
finding the ornament is lucky. However, in my family, the term Christmas pickle
takes on a different meaning and it’s far from lucky.
On Christmas Eve 2016, my family gathered at my home for
the evening meal. I knew that my grandchildren, Addison, then 4, and Eli, 2, both
enjoyed dill pickles, so I was sure to pick some up from the grocery store. I
placed them in a serving dish and set them on the table. As soon as we said
grace, the two children bit into a pickle. Suddenly, Eli shuddered, and Addison
gagged and took off for the bathroom.
“Wow, that must have been a sour pickle!” my mother
remarked.
“Here, let me have your pickle, Eli,” Ricky offered and took
a bite, “That is pungent!”
Then Tim tried it. Emma did too. Both concurred. “What
kind of pickles did you buy, Mom?”
