The History of the Christmas Nutcracker

Nutcrackers at a German Christmas Market.

Nutcrackers in some form have been around since ancient times. However, they were much different in design and from from what we consider the Christmas Nutcracker. Those didn’t appear until the mid 1700’s when many Germany mines had shut down and the workers had to figure out other sources of income. They turned to the abundant forests and their woodworking skills to craft dolls, toys, Christmas Pyramids, angels, and nutcrackers. The first nutcrackers were made to look like authority figures such as kings or soldiers. These “nut cracking” officials symbolized the unpleasantness the townspeople felt towards the authorities and their glee at making the figures work for them. In time, nutcrackers evolved from being functional to mainly decorative.

In 1816, E.T.A Hoffman wrote a story called “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”. By 1844, Alexandre Dumas revised the story and this version was turned into a ballet in 1892 called The Nutcracker. The ballet wasn’t widely performed in America until the mid 20th century. Around that same time American G.I.s were sending home nutcrackers as Christmas gifts. These two events cemented the Christmas season relationship with nutcrackers.

Buying Guide:

• The first thing you should know when purchasing a Christmas Nutcracker (regardless of if it’s Christmas themed or not) is that it will likely NOT crack nuts. Many are for decorative purposes only.
• Most German Nutcrackers base forms are made of wood, although some may be made of metal.
• They style is mainly folk-art inspired, and should be highly detailed and intricate.
• What the figure actually depicts can be anything. While you still can get traditional king or soldier Nutcrackers you’ll also find almost any type now from pop-culture like Darth Vader, Santa Claus, historical figures, or modern job professions like a postman.
• Nutcrackers can range in size from small ornaments up to large statement decorations that are almost life sized.
• The most common German nutcracker collectibles are made by Steinbach, Fuchtner, and Ulbricht.

Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.