Nutcrackers

Ever since the fame of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite Ballet was composed in 1982, nutcrackers have become a staple of Christmas decoration and gift giving.

Originally, nutcrackers were designed merely to crack nuts, a common gift at Christmas. One story explains how a woodcarver began carving the nutcrackers to look like fierce soldier. He would give them to his children whenever he had to leave home to protect them while he was away. He painted big teeth to crack the nuts and show how strong and fierce the nutcrackers were.

In 1816, E.T.A. Hoffman wrote the story of the Nutcracker Prince. In the story, he was given to a young girl at Christmas by her uncle, Herr Drosselmeyer. In the original tale, her name was Maria, which was changed to Clara. The girl drifts off to sleep at the foot of her Christmas tree and dreams of heroic adventures fighting the Mouse King and meeting Sugar Plum Fairies in the land of her Nutcracker Prince.