The Nutcracker: A Holiday Tradition
Author: Fern al'Thorn, December 2017
The Nutcracker has been around for a pretty long time, and became popular with The Nutcracker and the King of Mice written by E.T.A. Hoffman in 1816. It was then thrust more into the popular culture with the Russian Ballet Production written by Peter Tchaikovsky in 1892.
There are a few different stories about how the Nutcracker came about, one of them being this one, that seems to be the most popular version of it.
One story holds that a wealthy but lonely farmer who found the process of cracking nuts to be detrimental to his productivity (efficiency even pervades German folklore!) offered a reward to whoever could come up with the best solution. Each villager drew on his own professional expertise—a carpenter advocating sawing them open, a soldier shooting the suckers. But it was the puppet maker—a profession that seems to loom large in European tall tales—who won the day, building a strong-jawed, lever-mouthed doll.
They are considered good luck to your family and help protect the home and from evil spirits by baring their teeth at them. They represent power and strength and the cycle of life. As the seed of a nut falls to the ground, it grows into a strong tree, living over hundreds of years nourishing the woodcutters and wood crafters. The legends tell of a feast celebrated just before harvesting the logs of the Elder trees, where nuts and fruits were eaten as if to pass on the magic and mystery of this eternal cycle.
I have been collecting them myself for a number of years and have many different styles. It is one of my favorite things to get out during the holiday season and I usually leave them up for longer than anything else. I have a few of them that stay out year round.
Maybe this year you will find one that you JUST have to take home with you!
