Nutcrackers and Forgotten History

Comments · 498

• RI

  @richardklug822 · 6 years ago

  When I was growing up, the ability to crack two walnuts with one bare hand was a test of one's manhood. Still remember the thrill when I finally accomplished it in my teens. Sadly, arthritis has now made that feat but a memory.

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• DE

  @denniswhite166 · 6 years ago

  We took our then 4 year old granddaughter for a drive looking at Christmas lights. All of a sudden she started yelling for us to "Look, Look peanut chompers, peanut chompers". We had no idea what she was talking about until we followed her pointing at  two very large Wooden Soldiers standing guard on either side of a well decorated home's doorway. A Christmas memory made to last forever.

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• CE

  @censusgary · 6 years ago

  Years ago, when I was in Germany, a folk art expert there told me that the wooden nutcracker dolls were originally made in the mining district of Thuringia (in what then was East Germany), and that the men depicted were miners in their traditional mining gear. She said that foreigners often mistook their blue-coated uniforms and helmets for soldiers’ uniforms, but in fact they were old-fashioned miners’ work clothes. <br><br>I realize that many other versions of the nutcrackers have been made, not to mention all the cheap knockoffs manufactured in other countries, but it “deserves to be remembered” that the most traditional nutcracker men are miners.

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• JA

  @jamesbarca7229 · 6 years ago

  &quot;...represents some 40% of the ticket sales for many ballet companies in the US.&quot; <br>Sounds to me like the Nutcracker is responsible for the survival of many of these companies. I doubt Tchaikovsky saw that coming when he grudgingly agreed to compose the music for it.

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• CO

  @ComfortRoller · 6 years ago

  We pronounce &quot;Leavenworth&quot; like leavened bread if you live in Washington state. <br> Thanks for being my buddy with historical facts.

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• MR

  @Mrch33ky · 6 years ago

  Mom took my sister and I to see Mikhail Baryshnikov in The Nutcracker in the 70&apos;s. It was terrifying. A true Russian fairy tale.

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• DA

  @DavidKutzler · 6 years ago

  I was stationed in Weisbaden, Germany in 1992. At a Weihnachtsmarkt I bought, directly from the artisan, a limited edition Christopher Columbus nutcracker marking the five-hundredth anniversary of his 1492 voyage to the Americas. I display it every Christmas.

  16

• DA

  @davepratt9909 · 6 years ago

  When you were listing the types of figurines, I thought you were going to add &quot;and even pirates, cause don&apos;t all good stories involve pirates?&quot;<br><br><br>Hope you and yours have a good and productive new year.

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• AR

  @ArcticOven · 9 months ago

  Fun fact: Leavenworth (pronounced lev not lay) was a dying town until they went all in on the Bavarian theme. Now, even the Starbucks, McDonald&apos;s, and Subway are themed. This saved the town by making it a tourist destination. It is most famous for its Christmas appeal, but it is absolutely worth a visit in summer for the hiking, camping, and whitewater rafting.

  3

• TE

  @terryboyer1342 · 6 years ago

  This vid was nuts! Cracked me up!

  81

• MI

  @MichaelJMetz · 5 years ago

  It always fascinates when someone from long ago was reluctant to move forward with something that later becomes some iconic aspect of culture.

  3

• CA

  @CANARYTHREAT · 1 year ago

  Earlier I was trying to take a nap, and out of nowhere I wondered what the history behind these things is. Thanks, man

  2