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Holidays In a Nutshell A brief history of nutcrackers. Posted Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010, at 10:54 AM ET
For most people, Christmas nutcrackers--the kind that look like little men--call to mind sugarplum fairies and first trips to the ballet. I think of my mother. She's not otherwise given over to kitsch or obsessive collecting, but every year around Thanksgiving she pulls from the recesses of closets and the depths of the basement a collection of more than 150 nutcrackers. Then, with a steady soundtrack of Christmas music filling the house, she arranges them carefully by theme: Soldierly nutcrackers arrayed in dignified formation; the cheesemonger and fisherman nestled in the kitchen; several Santas all competing for the attentions of a single Mrs. Claus on a hutch in the family room; the characters from the ballet--Clara, the Mouse King, et al--in a place of honor in the dining room near my grandmother's silver. To continue reading, click here. Noreen Malone is a Slate contributor. Follow her on Twitter.Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Weigel: Anti-Earmark Senators Are Still Stuffing Bills With Earmarks! Google Has Two Great Operating Systems, ChromeOS and Android. It Should Combine Them. The Five Tactics Customer-Service Reps Use When People Get Really Angry | Advertisement |
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