Montanans Are Googling an Unusual Holiday Tradition

One of the most revealing types of information lately is the aggregate data that comes from Google searches and Google Trends. This time, Google search information shows the most popular holiday traditions searched in all 50 states, courtesy of littlesleepies, and Montana's is kind of a weird one.

It's weird only because Montana is the only state that searched for this tradition.

Other states searched for things like advent calendars, white elephant parties, and ugly Christmas sweaters.

Montana searched for hiding a pickle ornament. What? 

Have you ever heard of this tradition? I've seen the ornaments but I didn't know anything about the tradition. So, now I'm a Montanan Googling "hiding a pickle ornament" and here's what it says. The top entry is from Wikipedia:

A decoration in the shape of a pickle is hidden on a Christmas tree, with the finder receiving either a reward or good fortune for the next year. - Wikipedia

There might be an easy explanation for why Montanans are searching for "hiding a pickle ornament."

It may boil down to ancestry...or it may not.

Related: These Are the Most Commonly Reported Ancestries of Montanans 

From the queen of traditions herself, the Martha Stewart website provides this explanation for the history of the pickle ornament:

For years, people believed that the Christmas pickle tradition was passed down through the generations from Old World Germany. -marthastewart.com

But it turns out that's not the case. According to the Martha Stewart article, other possible explanations have included stories about a starving Civil War soldier and St. Nicholas saving two little boys. But here's the most likely explanation:

Historical evidence supports the theory that the tradition was most likely fabricated by salesmen during the late 1800s to promote German glass ornaments in American stories. - marthastewart.com

Do you hide a pickle ornament on your tree?