The Nutcracker—it’s as synonymous with the holiday season as twinkling lights, candy canes, and fir trees. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1892 ballet is performed by virtually every ballet company during the month of December. But it may surprise you to learn that it wasn’t always a holiday staple. In this article, we’ll take a look at the history behind The Nutcracker to see how it came to be the cherished Christmas tradition we know it as today. The history of The Nutcracker dates back to 1816 when author E. T. A. Hoffmann penned Nussknacker und Mausekönig (or The Nutcracker and the...