Nutcracker figures are now a very common Christmas and New Year decoration. However, they only became popular worldwide after World War II.
Wooden nutcrackers have been produced in parts of what is now Germany and the Czech Republic since the late 1600s. They may have originated as symbols of good luck or as caricatures. One story says that a wealthy but grumpy farmer couldn’t find an efficient way to crack walnuts and offered a reward to anyone who could.
A woodcarver from the village of Seiffen (in Saxony) created a toy with an opening and closing mouth that was powerful enough to crack the nuts. It was a huge success, and the farmer rewarded the entire village! By 1800, nutcrackers were a popular decoration in Saxony and Sonneberg. Records show they were being sold at the Dresden market as early as 1786.
Napoleon occupied the area in the early 1800s, and this may be why nutcrackers were made to look like him and his soldiers, giving them the appearance we recognize today. Nutcracker dolls grew in popularity across other parts of Germany and Europe from the early to mid-1800s. Today, the figures are usually made in the form of toy soldiers, but they are also crafted as policemen, kings, and more.
The Nutcracker Ballet
In 1816, the book The Nutcracker and the Mouse King was published by the German author E.T.A. Hoffmann. It tells the story of a young girl named Marie and her toys on Christmas Eve. The original story was actually quite scary! In it, Marie’s toys come to life on Christmas Eve, and the Nutcracker figure helps lead the fight against an army of mice.
The tale was adapted in 1844 by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. In 1892, the Russian composer P.I. Tchaikovsky and his friend, choreographer Marius Petipa, used a much simpler version of the story and turned it into a two-act ballet titled The Nutcracker. The first performance took place in Saint Petersburg and was not very popular, though people did enjoy the music.
In 1934, a version was released that introduced many changes and became more successful! The first full performance of the ballet outside of Russia also took place in 1934, in England. The first complete version of the ballet in the US was presented on Christmas Eve 1944 by the San Francisco Ballet and was a massive success. Since then, the San Francisco Ballet, like many theaters around the world, has performed it every Christmas Eve.
Nutcracker dolls spread across the globe after World War II, when soldiers brought them home as gifts from German Christmas markets. Thus, the appearance of the dolls and the popularity of the ballet converged, making Nutcracker figures a Christmas and New Year staple all over the world!
