Christmas guide
Belsnickle Santas: what they are and how to display them
An older, sterner Christmas visitor, in a long robe instead of a red suit. Where the belsnickle comes from, and how to stand a few on a mantel.
Belsnickle Santas are tall, robed figures made in the image of Belsnickel, a fur-clad Christmas visitor from German and Pennsylvania Dutch tradition. They are quieter than a jolly Santa, and they hold a mantel all season.
What is a belsnickle?
In the folklore of the Palatinate, a region of southwestern Germany along the Rhine, Belsnickel is a gift-bringer who comes in the weeks before Christmas. The name joins Pelz, German for fur, with Nickel, a short form of Nicholas: roughly, Nicholas in furs. He is pictured in ragged clothes and furs, carrying a switch for children who misbehaved and sweets for those who didn’t. Unlike the helpers who walk beside Saint Nicholas in other traditions, he comes alone and plays both parts.
German immigrants carried him to Pennsylvania, where he was known by the early 1800s. Among the Pennsylvania Dutch he would knock at the door or window, ask the children questions, and toss treats on the floor. The spelling wanders: Belsnickel, Belznickel, Pelznickel. Decor makers and collectors usually write the figures as “belsnickle,” and so do we.
From folk figure to figurine
The figurines came later. Collectors generally date the classic German belsnickles from about the 1870s to the First World War. They were usually papier-mâché or chalkware: a long hooded robe, a stern face, a white beard, often a sprig of feather tree or a sack in one arm, and a dusting of mica for frost. Many were candy containers that lifted off their base. They ran from a few inches tall to about two feet, the largest made for shop windows.
Old ones are collected seriously. Ours are not antiques. They are new figures made in the old style, for people who love the look and want to live with it.
Choosing belsnickle Santas
Height. Ours run from about 5 inches to just over 17. The small ones tuck onto a bookshelf or a tray. Figures of 10 to 12 inches suit a side table. The tallest, around 16 to 17 inches, are mantel scale. Several come as size runs, so a family of three in one color is easy.
Robe. The velvet belsnickles come in deep red, forest, soft blue, ivory, oatmeal, and fawn. Others come in white, red, red and silver, or ginger and silver. A few are glittered with gold stars, and some have furry white robes.
Palette. Choose one color family. Oatmeal, fawn, and ivory velvet sit inside our Warm Textures palette of tan velvet, cream, and oak. Forest and deep red are the classic Christmas pair. Soft blue reads as winter. A mantel with all of them at once reads like a sample shelf.
Material. Most of ours are listed as papier-mâché, the traditional material. Each listing gives the details.
Velvet belsnickles in the shop now
How to display them
Use one, or use three. One tall belsnickle is a figure. Three in graduated heights are a family. Two tend to look like bookends.
Give them a forest. The old figures often carried a sprig of feather tree. A few bottle brush trees behind and beside them echo that and give the group depth.
On a mantel, set them off center. Stand the figures toward one end, put a candle or a lantern toward the other, and leave real space between. The mantel in the Christmas house works the same way: a candle, a stocking, a lighted house, and one figure.
In an entry, one belsnickle on a console beside a lamp is enough. It is the first thing people see and the last thing they pass.
On a bookshelf, a 5-inch figure between books reads as a find, not a display.
White belsnickles
Care and storage
Papier-mâché dislikes damp. Dust with a soft, dry brush, never a wet cloth, and brush velvet in the direction of its nap. Keep the figures away from open flame and out of steady sun. To store them, wrap each one in tissue, stand it upright in a box, and keep the box somewhere with an even temperature and low humidity. A closet is better than an attic or a basement.
Common questions
Is it belsnickel or belsnickle?
Both. Belsnickel, or Pelznickel, is the usual spelling for the folk figure. Belsnickle is how most decor makers and collectors spell the figurines.
Is a belsnickle the same as Santa Claus?
No, though both trace back, loosely, to Saint Nicholas. Belsnickel is a folk visitor who came before Christmas and judged the children himself. Belsnickle Santas borrow his long robe and serious face, which is why they look older and calmer than a red-suited Santa.
Are your belsnickles antiques?
No. They are new figures made in the traditional style. Antique German belsnickles are sold through antiques dealers and auction houses.
Where should a belsnickle go?
Anywhere you would set a single good candle: a mantel, a console, a deep windowsill, a shelf near eye level. Not on the floor, where they get lost.
Keep reading
For the forest behind them, read the bottle brush tree guide. For a flat figure that stands at the foot of the stair, read about dummy boards. To see the rules behind each morning’s edit, read how we choose the daily ten, or browse all of our room stories. The belsnickles themselves are with the Santas and Christmas figures.
The belsnickles stand with the Santas.