When you think of Christmas, I bet most people think about Santa Claus, the Nativity, family gatherings, tree decorating, carols, big feasts, and exchanging presents. But, what about some guy dressed in fur and antlers who visits your home a week or two before Christmas to check whether you’ve been good or bad?
That’s the gist of something called Belsnickeling. If you’re a fan of the TV show The Office you might’ve seen an episode where one of the characters dresses up as a Belsnickel for the company Christmas party. Now, I first heard of “the Belsnickels” from my Nan, Rose (Power) Mills.
She was born and raised in East Jeddore, a small rural fishing community, in Nova Scotia. It seems her family and neighbours partook in Belsnickeling. I don’t know how common Belsnickeling was in the broader Jeddore community or when it ceased to a “thing.” My Mom, who was born in Oyster Pond Jeddore thirty years after my Nan, never heard of it until her mother retold the stories to us. And, what stories they were.
Apparently, a group of men would knock on the door in the lead up to Christmas. My Nan described them as having antlers and being dressed in furs or pelts. Sometimes, they wore a mask for disguise and carried a stick to tap on the floor. They rang bells that were tied to their waist.
The Belsnickel would ask the children if they had been good or bad. They often demanded the children perform songs and then asked them for a small gift. This usually involved my Nan and her siblings going to the cellar to fetch a potato for them. Then, they were off…singing merrily on their way to the next house.
When my Nan told me about the Belsnickels, I thought it was the most bizarre (not to mention petrifying) Christmas tradition that I had ever heard of. Must’ve been a Jeddore thing, I thought. But, after doing some digging, I have learned that Belsnickeling is a very old tradition practised in parts of the world for centuries.
It’s rooted in German origins. The Baker family of Jeddore came to Nova Scotia from Germany, so I can only assume this is the connection to my Nan’s family. Nan’s mother was a Baker and they lived amongst other members of the Baker family.
If you want to learn more about the Belsnickel tradition, check out the links below. In the meantime, if you hear a knock on the door in the days before Christmas there might be a man dressed in furs and antlers on the other side of the door. You might be getting a visit from the Belsnickel.
Additonal Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belsnickel
https://www.visitpaamericana.com/holidays/what-or-who-is-belsnickel
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