These 6 inch nutcracker soldiers are dressed in blue coats with gold buttons and red and gold trim. He is also wearing white pants, a black helmet with a gold chain decoration, and black shoes. There is a silver sword in the left hand of the nutcracker ornaments and a gold sheath hanging on the left hip. This gray haired soldier is standing at attention on a decorative red rectangle. The nutcracker ornaments have a square wood base so the nutcracker ornaments can set on any flat surface. The nutcracker ornament hanger is a braided gold lame cord. Select this link to view all of our nutcracker ornaments.
History of German Nutcrackers
Produced for generations by skilled German woodcrafter, nutcrackers were traditionally dressed as soldiers and kings. In old Germany, it delighted villagers to see these authoritarian figures doing menial tasks such as cracking nuts! A bowl of Christmas nuts was just not complete without a colorful German nutcracker standing at attention nearby. Nutcrackers were especially popular with Germans who coined the phrase, “Gott gibt die nüsse aber knacken müss man sie selbst (God gives the nuts but we must crack them ourselves),” which was intended to teach children that life was hard but rewarding. This phrase made the nutcracker a favorite toy, possibly because it enabled children to reach life’s rewards more easily. Select this link to view our wooden nutcracker soldiers.
The History Of Nutcrackers
A nutcracker is a device for cracking nuts. It works on the principle of movement derived from Archimedes' discovery of the lever.
Nutcrackers as wood carvings of a soldier, knight, king, or other profession have been known since at least the 15th century. These nutcrackers are carvings of a person with a big mouth that is opened by pressing a lever in the back of the figurine. Originally one could insert a nut in the big-toothed mouth, press down and thereby crack the nut. Modern nutcrackers in this style are mostly for decoration.
The carving of nutcrackers as well as religious figures and cribs developed as a cottage industry in forested rural areas of Germany. The most famous nutcracker carvings come from Sonneberg, Thuringia, also a center of doll making, and from the Ore Mountains. Wood carving was usually the only income for the people living there. Today their income is supplemented by the travel industry bringing visitors to the remote areas.
Nutcrackers have become popular in the United States as well and a recreated "Bavarian village" of Leavenworth, Washington even features a Nutcracker Museum. Many other materials were used for the decorated nutcrackers, such as porcelain, silver, and brass, and can be seen at the museum.
Carvings by famous names like Jungbanel, Mertens, Karl, Kolbe, Petersen, Ulbricht and especially the Steinbach nutcrackers have become collectors' items. Select this link to view all of our wooden nutcrackers.