Jimmy Fallon passes the ceremonial pickle to Seth Meyers (photo)

There are some strange traditions in the world of late-night talk shows, and none of them are stranger than the ceremonial passing of the pickle.

This is a tradition that began over two decades ago, when David Letterman ended up passing this pickle along to Conan O’Brien when he went to host “Late Night.” Then, Conan handed the pickle down to Jimmy Fallon back in 2009, when he made the move to host the show for the first time. Fallon even made a video all about it years ago, which you can see at the bottom of this article.

Well, during tonight’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” Seth Meyers actually receives the pickle a little early! He is the guest on Fallon’s show tonight, and this has obviously turned into more of an exchange that happens on actual television rather than off the air. It’s a big (goofy) moment for the “Weekend Update” co-anchor, who will actually not start hosting the show until Monday, February 24, after the conclusion of the Winter Olympics.

Now will Meyers end up being as great of a host as Fallon was? We feel confident, but we also feel like it is going to be a very different sort of experience with him. Seth is much more of a traditional comic than Jimmy is, and may emphasize the monologue and the interviews a little bit more than Jimmy does. He can tell great jokes, but he is someone who we feel is fully in his comfort zone when he is just having fun, or acting in a sketch that shows off his creativity. It will be just as interesting to see how that transfers over to “The Tonight Show” as everything else will be.

We’re of course going to be following this every step of the way, so be sure to check back over the next month. Also, sign up now if you want to acquire some more CarterMatt scoop via our official newsletter.

Photo: NBC