Written by staff blogger, Tristan
It’s the winter holiday season, a time of family and generosity in what are the darkest days of the year. As a widespread holiday, Christmas has its share of famous characters. One of the most popular is Santa Claus, who has his roots in Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children. Today’s Santa is known to work alongside a whimsical cast such as toy-making elves and sleigh-pulling reindeer. Sometimes even his wife, Mrs. Claus, makes an appearance.
In the past, Santa has also had less… friendly… colleagues. Krampus, for example, was a being who exclusively punished naughty children. But most of Santa’s other more curious companions followed in his footsteps and carried goodies to distribute among the nice children. The curious ones, however, still kept their edge. Which brings us to today’s blog post: The Belsnickel.
Birth of the Furry Gifter
The Belsnickel is a character from Germanic Christmas folklore. There are several variations on his name: Belschnickel, Belznickle, Pelznikel, and even Bell Sniggle. The name derives from either belzen/pelzen (to wallop) or bels/pelz (fur), and nickel for Saint Nicholas. (Brickthology) While he was famously depicted in The Office by the character Dwight Schrute, the Belsnickel’s legends date back to at least the 1600s. Sources claim that Belsnickel is said to arrive two weeks before Christmas and boldly whacks on the window with his switch or whip. He will then barge into your home. A child confronted by the Belsnickel would have to recite Bible passages to be judged as “good”. But even when they had proven themselves to be "good", if the kids were not patient when Belsnickel scattered gifts and sweets on the floor, they would get a smack. (All That's Interesting) Sometimes he’d threaten misbehaving kids with drowning or kidnapping (Web Archive), or he’d leave a switch stick in the child’s stocking.
It's possible his legend may have been derived from Knecht Ruprecht (“Servant Rupert/Robert”), an earlier companion of Santa that similarly wielded a stick that he would use to beat children who misbehaved (Web Archive). Similar to other German holiday traditions and fairy tales have a strong theme of reward and punishment, and they were often employed to teach moral lessons to help children navigate a dangerous world. (German Girl in America) Unlike Ruprecht, who was from Northern Germany, the Belsnickel originated along the river Rhine (Bucks County Herald).
The Birth of a Tradition
The Belsnickel wasn't just a character or figure of legend. He was an inspiration! And the people who believed in him began a tradition in his name: Belsnickeling (Web Archive). Similar to Mummering, Belsnickeling took place around the Christmas Holiday. It involved adults dressing up in costume, having a bit to drink, and going to go door to door in their neighbourhood. The costumed visitors would then make the occupants of each house try and guess who they were under their odd clothes and masks. Belsnicklers carried treats and small gifts to give to the children of each household they visited, and like The Belsnickel they might have asked the children to recite Bible passages, or a lesson from school (New York State Parks and Historic Sites). Belsnicklers were also known to play pranks (or the pranks were attributed to Belsnickel), as demonstrated in the Pottstown Lafayette Aurora from December 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.
Colonial Sense
Unlike many of the figures once associated with Christmas (including the extremely controversial Zwarte Piet), The Belsnickel managed to make his way over the Atlantic Ocean to North America.
Belsnickeling in North America
When German immigrants made their journey across the ocean to settle in Canada and the United States, The Belsnickel and his holiday tradition followed. Examples of Belsnickling can be found in places like Indiana, New York, and right here at home.
In the 1750s, England wanted to establish settlements of loyal Protestants in Nova Scotia to displace the Mi’kmaq and Acadian population. To do this, they recruited Protestants from Germany, as well as Switzerland and France. (Geni) This group of settlers, called the Foreign Protestants, came to Nova Scotia on twelve ships between 1750 and 1752. When the Foreign Protestants arrived in Halifax, they were not treated well by the English. They were shorted necessary supplies and were expected to work immediately upon landing without time to recover from the cramped ships. Eventually, the majority of the settlers were sent to Mirligaiche (now known as Lunenburg). There were once 700 “founding families, but this quickly dwindled down to 200 over roughly two decades from landing." (WikiTree)
Due to the influx of German settlers, Lunenburg County has many ties to German heritage including family names, place names, and traditions, including Belsnickeling. The practice was especially common around rural communities on the South Shore, like Riverport. One of the most common mask materials used were cotton scallop bags (CBC Radio).
In an interesting twist, an edition of Porter Airlines in-flight magazine from November 2018 misattributed Belsnickeling to Halifax rather than Lunenburg County (CBC). This caused some confusion, and a little bit online mockery (CBC). In Porter Airlines' defence, it was likely an honest mistake. The town of Halifax, Pennsylvanian DOES keep up the tradition, and held their 22nd Annual Belsnickel Holiday Parade and Festival on December 6, 2025. (Citizen Standard)
Falling Out of Fashion
As you may have noticed throughout this post, there’s a lot of past tense. A lot of “used tos". There's a good chance you may not have heard of Belsnickel before, let alone Belsnickeling. Unfortunately, the tradition began to die out shortly after World War II (News Leader). Because the Second World War was so devastating, people gained a distrust of their neighbours, especially if they came to the door wearing scary masks. Belsnickeling is also a German tradition, and anti-German sentiment following both World War I and II likely played a role in the festive activity's decline. (University of Winnipeg) German-Canadians were frequently reminded that their ancestral country committed unforgivable atrocities; they had to assimilate in order to avoid scrutiny. (University of Winnipeg) As a result, we lost some traditions that German settlers had brought with them to Nova Scotia, including Belsnickeling.
There is a little bit of good news, though: Canada is starting to welcome German heritage again in earnest. October is Canada’s German Heritage Month (Government of Canada). There are also German Heritage societies across the country such as the German-Canadian Association of Nova Scotia.
The Finishing Lines
This holiday season, spare a thought for old Belsnickel. Perhaps you can revive the tradition with trusted neighbours (minus the hickory switch of course). And if you hear a bold tap-tap-tap at your window, be sure to check for a man heavily decked in furs lest he burst through your door and catch you unaware.
Sources
22nd Annual Belsnickel Holiday Parade and Festival planning underway, Citizen Standard
Belsnickel's Christmas: Furry Palatine Giftgiver, New York State Park and Historic Sites
Belsnickel is Coming to Halifax, PA, S J Histories
Belsnickel in Indiana, Mr Shea
Belsnickle - The Old, Weird Christmas, Frontier Partisans
Belsnickel-wha?: Holiday Traditions in the Shenandoah Valley, Museum of the Shenandoah Valley
Belsnickeling and Shanghaiing: forgotten country traditions, News Leader
The Foreign Protestants: Arrivals to Nova Scotia (1750-1752), Geni
The Foreign Protestants to Nova Scotia, WikiTree
The Gale, Lunenburg County RootsWeb
History of Nova Scotia, Blupete
Huh? Travel magazine claims Nova Scotians love Belsnickeling at Christmas, CBC
The Next Page: Meet Belsnickel, the Counter Claus, Web Archive
Nova Scotia Belsnickeling is real - and here's a photo to prove it, CBC Radio
Offshore Scallop - Maritimes Region, Government of Canada
Once practiced in Souderton and Telford, the Belsnickel tradition has faded, Bucks County Herald
Statement on German Heritage Month and Oktoberfest, Government of Canada
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