Germany busy making Christmas nutcrackers
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E-mail CNTV, December 20, 2012
With the festivities just around the corner, the small town of Seiffen in East Germany is busy making its famous traditional Christmas nutcrackers. Many in Germany and even across the globe look forward to receiving one of these special handcrafted wooden toys as a Christmas present.
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Painted heads of smoker Christmas figures are placed for drying on a tray at the "Erzgebirgische Volkskunst Richard Glaesser" manufactory in Seiffen, November 28, 2012. |
The popularity of this wooden toy has also attracted many tourists to the east German town, and it's bringing new vitality to the former industrial mining region.
Stefan Schenk, assistant manager of Christian Ulbricht Nutcracker House, said, "There used to be a mining industry here, but when the mines were closed, the miners had to come up with some other industry to support their families, so they started making these traditional wooden toys. Of course it all started off as small family enterprises, which gradually grew and more of the products were exported, eventually becoming world-famous."
The products the local manufacturers sell vary from tiny tree decorations to giant imposing nutcracker statues. Every wooden item is handmade and involves a complex process of drilling, sawing, varnishing and assembling.
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A man works on a traditional wooden Christmas pyramid miniature at the "Erzgebirgische Volkskunst Richard Glaesser" manufactory in Seiffen, November 28, 2012. |
Each year, the Christian Ulbricht Nutcracker House produces more than 100,000 wooden toys. One of their most popular products is the "Wackelmensch", a small wooden figure that wobbles if you push it gently, and it sells for only 10 euros, or about 13 US dollars. Their tall nutcracker statues that are just over one metre tall sell for 2,500 euros, or just over 3,000 US dollars.
This year, the wooden toys are being exported to Brazil for the first time, where the nutcrackers will adorn a totally different Christmas scene. Instead of a snowy landscape, sunshine and golden beaches await them.
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