Christmas 2024
Der Pelznikel, Belsnickel, Belsnickle, Bellsnickel, Belshnikel, Pelz-Nickel, Beltznickel, Kriskinkle, Beltznickle, Pelsnichol, Peltznickel, Pelshnikel …
Our Family Tradition
A Christmas folklore of German origin was passed down by generations of my father’s family. From my early childhood, I was told of an elf-like character who guarded the tree on Christmas Eve. The story was that any errant child who might attempt to approach the Christmas tree and explore the presents before the proper time would encounter a barrage of pieces of coal and be chased away. The name we were taught sounded like “Pelschnickel.”
Every year on Christmas Eve, our living room was kept dark and barricaded. I remember standing at the edge of the room, peering into the darkness with my brother Albie, who would say, “Do you see him? Look behind the tree.” After our special dinner on Christmas Eve, the Christmas Tree lights would miraculously turn on, undoubtedly lit by our visitor, and then we were allowed to gather around the tree for presents.
Remembering back to Christmas, maybe 1955 or 1956, when I was 7 or 8, Albie enacted a drama with our “Pelschnikel.” In the course of that evening, before dinner, suddenly there was a crying out from the living room and flying pieces of coal from the back of the room by the tree. Poor Albie came running out of the room and ran right out the front door! I was astonished. Evidently, he had become a victim.
One year not so long ago, I asked Albie if he knew how to spell that name. Neither of us was sure what was correct. We never knew whether this custom was held by anyone outside of our family. Now, I have discovered that this folklore has been kept by the Pennsylvania Dutch and others who emigrated from Germany. It’s even becoming more popular. The most common spelling turns out to be “Pelznickel” or “Belznickel,” or any of the spellings in the heading above. It is pictured as a character who arrives during the Christmas season dressed in a long and ragged fur cloak with pockets stuffed with candy and treats for the good children and carrying a switch or a stick to punish misbehaving children.
Our Family Tradition is not just ours …
This discovery has opened up so many new stories, customs, traditions, and annual Christmas events. It’s amazing to find that so much has been written about this character!
Stories collected from old Pennsylvania newspapers:
In 1827, a Philadelphia newspaper described the Belsnickel’s appearance: “Mr. Belsnickel appears dressed in skins or old clothes, his face black, a bell, a whip, and a pocket full of cakes or nuts; and either the cakes or the whip are bestowed upon those around, as may seem meet to his sable majesty.”
From the Harrisburg Patriot, Dec. 25, 1876:
“The fun- and mischief-loving portion of our population dressed in the costumes of ‘Beltznickels,’ carrying out the time-honored old custom of merry making on Christmas eve. … At many private residences the masqueraders were invited to enter and receive Christmas ‘treats.'”
From the Pottstown Lafayette Aurora, Dec. 21, 1826:
The “bellsnickel is a mischievous hobgoblin that makes his presence known to the people once a year by his cunning tricks of fairyism … Pottstown has had a full share of his presence this season if I am to judge from the wreck of lumber that is strewed through our streets and blockading the doors generally every morning, which indicates the work of a mighty marauder. … It is reported that he nearly demolished a poor woman’s house in one of the back streets a few nights ago.”
Blockading doors!! And our family tradition included blockading the living room!! Also, we celebrated on Christmas Eve. That is when we exchanged presents.
From the York Sunday Gazette, Dec. 24, 1905:
“The presence of a few youngsters on the street last evening playing ‘bellsnickle’ recalled to the memories of suddenly that the harmless and once almost universal pastime on Christmas Eve has fallen into decay and without any apparent reason … Less than a decade ago, if from 25 to 50 ‘bellsnickles’ did not visit the homes of each prosperous farmer, something was wrong. … It has all changed now. Not a real bellsnickle to be seen.”
And so, as the complaint above tells, for a while this tradition must have ceased to spread. All through our childhoods and adult years, we never knew anyone else who had this family custom … Until now!!
This one makes me laugh 🙂
More about this character: How did he dress, What did he do, and What did he carry?
According to the Belsnickel tradition in Germany, the Belsnickel is often clad in rags and patchwork, sometimes he blackens his face or wears a mask to appear more fearsome. He carries candy or treats for the obedient children along with switches or rods for those who have been misbehaving.
“Belsnickel would mainly leave switches for children who were bad through the year and would also leave small toys, socks, mittens, candies or fruits for the well-behaved children he came across. On the Eve of Christmas, just before everybody would go to bed, Belsnickel would announce his arrival by knocking on the windowpanes or doors. The children actually get to see Belsnickel, unlike Santa Claus who travels down the chimney while the children are asleep. With a black bag in one hand, and a mask covering his face, Belsnickel was considered more of a Robin Hood type of character during ‘Christmas’ and had an eerie, ‘superhero/bad guy’ quality to him. It is said that children would either love him, or absolutely fear him.”
“Legend has it that he used to drag naughty children into the forest and make them pay for their mischievous behavior through the year. Other stories suggest that he used to kidnap naughty children from their beds and never returned them to their parents. However, Belsnickel would often give them a chance to redeem themselves, if they deserved it. They were either made to dance, do tricks, sing or recite poems, depending on what Belsnickel wanted to hear. The story of Belsnickel is enough to inculcate fear in children. No wonder then that he later, disappeared into obscurity after the introduction of merrier Christmas characters into the picture.”
https://www.indobase.com/holidays/christmas/characters/belsnickel.html
“Belsnickel is a companion figure to Santa Claus in German folklore. Think of Belsnickel as the stern equivalent to the jolly Saint Nick. Belsnickel traditionally dressed in furs (or sometimes rags, depending on the area) and carried a switch (a small wooden whip).”
“The Belsnickel’s appearance is as wild and untamed as his character. He dresses in torn, tattered, and dirty clothes, topped with a cloak of assorted furs. His outfit is often adorned with bits of foliage, deer antlers, and other natural decorations, giving him a primal, almost mystical quality. A cap made of fur and crowned with deer antlers sits atop his head, framing his long, tangled hair and scraggly beard. Sometimes, he wears a frightening mask to add to his imposing presence.”
“Pennsylvanians also have Belsnickel, a very different sort of Christmas gift-bringer. Belsnickel, dressed in furs, raps on children’s windows, knowing exactly who has been bad; he carries a switch of hazel or birch branches to smack naughty children. But he also has a bag of treats — like nuts and fruit — to throw upon the floor for children to grab. (The Keystone. By Kalena Thomhave. December 6, 2024)”
The Name and Origin
Our family came from the town of Pirmasens, Germany, which is in Rhineland-Palatinate in southwestern Germany near the border with France. Back when our Staudermann family lived there, the town was famous for the manufacture of shoes.
What is the legend of the Belsnickel?
“The Belsnickel originated in the Palatinate region of Europe and is thought to be based on a companion or servant of Saint Nicholas. He is often adorned in animal fur, torn and dirty clothes, and will sometimes wear deer antlers atop his head. Hence the German word “bels” translates into fur, and “nickel” refers to St. Nicholas. The Belsnickel is also referred to as Kriskinkle, Beltznickle, Pelsnichol, and sometimes the “Christmas woman” when he arrives dressed in women’s garbs.”
“Belsnickel’s origins can be traced to the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany, where he’s also sometimes called “Kriskinkle,” “Beltznickle,” “Pelsnichol,” and even the “Christmas woman” because of his sometimes feminine clothing. The name “Belsnickel” itself is a combination of the German word bels (fur) and nickel (St. Nicholas).”
https://allthatsinteresting.com/belsnickel
“Belsnickel (also known as Belschnickel, Belznickle, Belznickel, Pelznikel, Pelznickel, Bell Sniggle) is a crotchety, fur-clad Christmas gift-bringer figure in the folklore of the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany along the Rhine, the Saarland, and the Odenwald area of Baden-Württemberg.”
“In die Pfalz (the Palatinate), a region in south-west Germany, this character is called Belsnickel (or Pelsnickel). Belsnickel does not actually accompany Saint Nicholas, but visits alone, so he represents both the good (giving presents) and the bad (punishing children). He often wears lots of fur, hence the name: Bels or Pels comes from the word der Pelz meaning fur (der Tierpelz – animal fur, for example). The second part of the word, nickel, is a sort of pet name for Nikolaus.”
https://blogs.transparent.com/german/german-companions-of-saint-nicholas/
“The name Belznikel is in two parts. Belz (actually spelled Pelz) is a pelt or fur coat and nikel is a nasty person. This unsavory person, using a switch would punish the boys who had misbehaved during the year. Sometimes he would also put them in a large sack and drag them away. Whenever a boy was being bad, he was warned – “Der Belznikel kommt” (the Belznikel is coming).”
This explains the name! According to this writer, the more common “Belz” was “actually spelled “Pelz!”” When my Grandpa and Dad would say the word, it sounded more like a “P” than a “B.”
Here are some more pictures 🙂
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