The Christmas Finial

In a previous blog I explained where the nutcracker came from. In the nineteenth century he developed from a pure utensil to a decorative fellow for the holiday season.

During the 1900′s the nutcracker was produced in two general groups. One included figures of local tradesmen, such as the hunter, the butcher, the bartender, etc.

The second group concentrated on the Nutcracker ballet and included the Nutcracker, the Mouse King, Drosselmeier, Clara and other players in Hoffmann’s story.

Both of these traditional types are still made today. Especially the last 10-20 years the Nutcracker became increasingly popular and this encouraged the producers to create all kinds of types and sizes of Nutcrackers. This in turn triggered a lot of people to start collecting Nutcrackers; just any Nutcracker they could find or well defined themes of Nutcracker figures.

* sports nutcrackers including baseball or football players from various teams, golf players, tennis players, skiers, any many other sports.
* trades and professions: policemen, firemen, military, cooks, bakers, waiter and almost any job you can think of.
* Christmas theme Nutcrackers: Santa’s in modern or old-fashioned outfits, and even the real(!) Saint Nicholas. Also Snowmen in various shapes and position fit this category.
* There are also Nutcrackers for many other holidays: Uncle Sam nutcrackers for July 4th, pilgrim and Indian nutcrackers for Thanksgiving. Witches, skeleton and ghost nutcrackers for Halloween.

The possibilities are endless and the Nutcracker is a wonderful topic for a collection.

Merry Christmas

Nutcrackers have become an additional type of Christmas decoration. With their colorful outfits they add joy and excitement to any holiday venue.

Origin of the Nutcracker

The nutcracker started, as the name says, as a utensil for the cracking of nuts. Nuts were harvested during autumn and consumed during the winter months. Especially around the midwinter festivities the nuts were a treat for young and old. Since certain types of nuts are quite difficult to crack a nutcracker device was soon invented.
In the Bohemian region (Germany, Czechia, Poland) woodcarving was a hobby for the winter months. A thick layer of snow prevented any outdoor activity and so the Bohemians were hibernating and keeping themselves busy and useful indoors.
Some woodcarving artisan came up with the idea of transforming a nutcracker utensil into a wooden doll. Nuts were cracked by his “powerful teeth”operated by a handle in his back. So our nutcracker figure was born. Over time different figures were added to the family and various colors were applied and outfits were developed.

Nutcracker story

In 1816 the German writer Hoffmann published the story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse-King”. In the story a Nutcracker comes to life and gets involved in an adventure. This fairy tale speaks to the imagination of children as well as adults.

Nutcracker Ballet

The great Russian composer Tchaikovsky took Hoffmann’s story and developed it into a ballet. The stage setting is a livingroom with a Christmas tree and presents under the tree. One of the presents is a Nutcracker that becomes the main character of the ballet along with the Mouse King, the Sugar-Plum fairy, Fritz and Clara, an army of toy soldiers and others. The ballet was first performed in St Petersburg in 1892. In our time the music of the Nutcracker Suite and the Ballet are performed in many places around the world and are as popular as ever.The Nutcracker fits right in the romantic atmosphere of the Holiday season and has become an important decor piece of many homes and public spaces.

to be continued…..

Merry Christmas