Editing Nutcracker (section)

==Decorative==
{{See also|Nutcracker doll}}
[[File:Nutcrackers.jpg|left|thumbnail|A variety of figure nutcrackers]]
Nutcrackers in the form of [[wood carving]]s of a soldier, knight, king, or other profession have existed since at least the 15th century. Figurative nutcrackers are a good luck symbol in Germany, and a folktale recounts that a puppet-maker won a nutcracking challenge by creating a doll with a mouth for a lever to crack the nuts.<ref name=slate/> These nutcrackers portray a person with a large mouth which the operator opens by lifting 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 serve mostly for decoration, mainly at [[Christmas]] time, a season of which they have long been a traditional symbol.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lilburn.patch.com/articles/the-nutcracker-a-timeless-symbol-of-christmas|title=The Nutcracker: A Timeless Symbol of Christmas|author=Gabilondo, Pat|date=December 23, 2011|publisher=Lilburn-MountainParkPatch|access-date=December 10, 2012}}</ref> [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]'s ballet ''[[The Nutcracker]]'', based on a story by [[E. T. A. Hoffmann]], derives its name from this festive holiday decoration.

The carving of nutcrackers&mdash;as well as of religious figures and of [[Nativity scene|crib]]s&mdash;developed as a [[cottage industry]] in forested rural areas of Germany. The most famous nutcracker carvings come from [[Sonneberg (district)|Sonneberg]] in [[Thuringia]] (also a center of dollmaking) and [[Seiffen]], as part of the industry of [[wooden toymaking in the Ore Mountains]]. Wood-carving usually provided the only income for the people living there. Today the travel industry supplements their income by bringing visitors to the remote areas. Carvings by famous names like Junghanel, Klaus Mertens, Karl, Olaf Kolbe, Petersen, Christian Ulbricht and especially the Steinbach nutcrackers have become collectors' items.

Decorative nutcrackers became popular in the United States after the [[Second World War]], following the first US production of ''The Nutcracker'' ballet in 1940 and the exposure of US soldiers to the dolls during the war.<ref name=fancy/> In the United States, few of the decorative nutcrackers are now functional, though expensive working designs are still available.<ref name=fancy/> Many of the woodworkers in Germany were in [[Ore Mountains|Erzgebirge]], in the Soviet zone after the end of the war, and they mass-produced poorly-made designs for the US market. With the increase in pre-shelled nuts, the need for functionality was also lessened. After the 1980s, Chinese and Taiwanese imports that copied the traditional German designs took over.<ref name=slate/><ref name=fancy>{{cite news|url=http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/08/why-nutcrackers-dont-actually-crack-nuts/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403083859/http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/08/why-nutcrackers-dont-actually-crack-nuts/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 3, 2015|title=Why Fancy Nutcrackers Don't Actually Crack Nuts|first=Mary Beth|last=Albright|work=The Plate|publisher=National Geographic|date=December 8, 2014|access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref> The recreated "Bavarian village" of [[Leavenworth, Washington]], features a nutcracker museum. Many other materials also serve to make decorated nutcrackers, such as [[porcelain]], [[silver]], and [[brass]]; the museum displays samples. The [[United States Postal Service]] (USPS) issued four stamps in October 2008 with custom-made nutcrackers made by Richmond, Virginia artist Glenn Crider.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/nutcrackers-at-national-postal-museum-33410746/?no-ist=|title=Nutcrackers at National Postal Museum|last=Gambino|first=Megan|work=Smithsonian Magazine|date=December 24, 2008|access-date=December 31, 2015}}</ref>