Pittsburgh’s pickle pops as giant balloon bursts during holiday installation

PITTSBURGH — The year 2020 strikes again. This time, Pittsburgh’s giant pickle, dubbed the ”World’s Largest Pickle Ornament,” was the victim of the cruel twist of fate.

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A holiday tradition in some homes, a larger-than-life, giant balloon Heinz pickle was being installed at EQT Plaza, but now there will be no giant pickle watching over the Steel City this year, WPXI reported.

The pickle was being installed by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, which said, “This latest ‘Pickleburst’ is just another oddity to overcome.”

President and EEO of the partnership, Jeremy Waldrup, said of the pickle, uh pickle, “We don’t relish the idea of a season without the Ornamental Pickle, but a sliced pickle just won’t cut it. This is a really big dill ... but we still have a ton more to offer this holiday season. While this pickle may be deflated, our spirits for a great holiday season have not,” WPXI reported.

The World's Largest Pickle Ornament is being canned after an unfortunate rip during installation. Read more on the very 2020 news:

Posted by Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership on Wednesday, November 25, 2020

The tradition of the holiday pickle is that before Christmas, a glass pickle ornament is hidden in a Christmas tree. The first child to find it Christmas morning either gets an extra surprise or they get to open the first gift, the “Today” show reported.

There are various stories of how the Christmas Tree pickle tradition started. While some say it is a German tradition, others say it comes from the Civil War and still others think it was a story created by an ornament artist, “Today” reported.

Click here to read about the variations of the tradition.

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