This Porcelain Nutcracker Suite Set
of 4 ranges in height from 2.5 to 3.5 inches tall. The set includes Clara, Heir Drosselmeyer, the Mouse King, and the Prince and each one hangs on the Christmas tree by a gold rope. Check out all of our Christmas Nutcracker Decorations for the holidays. The Mouse King is 2.5 inches tall and is wearing a shirt that looks a lot like Santa’s jacket. It is red with a white lining the shirt and sleeves, blue pants, and black boots with a gold buckle on them. He is also wearing a green cape that matches his green crown that has a red dome center and a gold ball finial on top. This Mouse King is holding a silver and gold sword with one hand and the sword’s case with the other. The next character from this Christmas Ornament Sets are the Prince who is 3.5 inches tall. He has long, white hair and beard and is wearing a red jacket that has a blue and yellow layered collar with blue cuffs that has gold lines on the front. His pants are white with a red string going down the outside of his pants with red boots that have gold laces. The Prince is also wearing a red hot had that has a gold band wrapped around it and a white feather on the front. He is holding a sword that is in its case with his left hand. The Heir Drosselmeyer ornament is 3.5 inches tall and has brown hair and beard with a black eye patch and is wearing a black top hat. He is wearing a black cape with a grey coat and red shirt with a white cravat. His pants are black and they stop at his knees, which exposes his knee high white socks and black shoes with gold buckles. He is cradling a nutcracker in his right arm. This Nutcracker Ornaments Clara is 3.5 inches long and is wearing a pink dress with white lace that boarders the sleeves and bottom of her dress with pink ballet slippers. Her long, blonde hair has a beautiful pink bow in it as she holds a Nutcracker with both arms. Select to see a complete listing of our Christmas Decorations Ideas.

Ballet Trivia.

• Ballet Began in Italy.
• Originally Kings and Queens and their court were the dancers, including Louis the XIV.
• The oldest ballet still being performed is The Whims of Cupid.
• The ballet La Sylphide is set in Scotland.
• Marie Taglioni is credited with popularizing dancing on pointe.
• The Bolshoi Ballet began as a dancing school for the Moscow Orphanage.
• The Ballet The Firebird was based on a Russian Folk Tale.
• George Ballanchine once choreographed a Ballet for Elephants.

The Story of The Nutcracker.
The combination of a useful tool and a figural form with a human appearance was well accepted by the mid 18th century. In the toy making center of Sonneberg, in the Thuringian Forest, there was mention in 1735 of nut biters that operated according to the principles of leverage. These nut biters were described as sturdy, energetic forms with large heads. Two moving arms on the back of the head allowed the lower jaw to push the nut against the upper jaw. In a carnival parade in 1783, students from Freisingen, Germany presented large models of Berchtesgaden wares, including a nut biter in the form of a little man whose mouth and stomach were one and the same. Select this link to view our Wooden Nutcrackers Soldiers.
The literary career of the nutcracker began with the 1816 publication of E.T.A. Hoffmann's fairy tale Nussknacker und Mausekönig, a children's book that helped bring the nutcracker into broader popularity. In the spirit of a time when the importance of the family and children was beginning to be emphasized, Hoffmann vividly depicted a sympathetic soul, Under the Christmas tree a very excellent little man became visible that stood there still and modest. He waited as if they would all come to him. The job of the nutcracker was to work hard for the children of the family by biting open the nuts. Select this link to view our Christmas Nutcrackers Village People.
Thirty five years after the publication of E.T.A. Hoffmann's classic, the nutcracker reappeared as a central character in Heinrich Hoffmann's story King Nutcracker and the Poor Reinhold 1851. In this story the poor Reinhold becomes acquainted with the Nutcracker King in a dream.
The nutcracker did not always play the role of the good hearted fairy tale king. More often he wore a monk's robe or was made into the form of a mean looking policeman, a Turk,