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There are obscure Christmas legends, and then there are the legends almost everyone remembers. Silent Night is a Christmas carol that has evoked a powerful response, and people seem compelled to shroud it with stories and mystery.
It's one of the newer Christmas traditions, but it's still had time to become near and dear to our hearts. Every year, usually at the beginning of December, many families attend the only piece of ballet or live theatre they'll see all year: The Nutcracker.
But how did The Nutcracker become such a popular tradition? What sets it apart from other Christmas stories and makes it special? And where, exactly, did it come from?
The story itself is quite old, and the one we see onstage isn't even the original, but a popular adaptation by the French author Alexandre Dumas, best known for writing The Three Musketeers. Once the story made the leap (no pun intended) from page to stage, though, history was in the making.
Continue reading "The Best of Christmas Traditions: The Nutcracker" »