Christmas gherkin / Weihnachtsgurke

It is said to be a regional German custom to hide a gherkin / pickled cucumber (these are large, Zeppelin-like objects) in the Christmas tree, rather like the silver threepenny bit in the Christmas pudding.

This one is so regional, however, that it probably isn’t true. Nevertheless, some Germans have come to believe in it. You can buy the one above at Gartenschätze.

See The German Christmas Pickle Tradition: Myth or Reality?

Mind you, Father Christmas doesn’t exist either.

4 thoughts on “Christmas gherkin / Weihnachtsgurke

  1. Odd. Many thousands of passengers fly between Frankfurt and the UK each day, apparently without let or hindrance.

    Perhaps there is some confusion here between being in the EU, which is not very relevant in an airport context, and being in the Schengen area (the UK isn’t), which is what determines whether or not you go through passport control.

    • I just assumed it was a trainee, although it’s pretty bad planning if it got as far as it sounds from the blog entry. They must have a list of countries that don’t need visas, surely. But maybe it is what you say.

  2. Happened to me a few years ago too, flying BA from FRA. Passport check at the gate. Security person evidently unfamiliar with British passport. “Where are you from?” “Scotland”. “You need a visa for England”.

    I’m sure there are some English nationalists who believe this should, indeed, be the case,. But I rather think that the reason in this particular case at Frankfurt Airport was that the gate security people were not of European origin: broken English, broken German and a lack of familiarity with the countries of the EU. This doesn’t seem to be the case with Lufthansa flights.

    Another phenomenon I encounter from time to time is counter staff at post offices trying to tell me that parcels to the UK need a customs declaration sticker (they don’t, of course). Poor training, I’m sure, rather than any ulterior reasons.

    • This reminds me of some Indian cricketer who was persuaded that he had to ride in the boot to cross into Wales because he had no visa.

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