He beat the ones who were naughty. In The Office, Belsnickel is portrayed by Dwight Schrute during the Season 9 Christmas special. I find this incredible since there are so many other creatures that inhabit these cliffs (i.e. The Belsnickel was one of several companions of Saint Nicholas, a character who originated in the Rhine, which included Germany, France and Switzerland. Companions were often used to highlight the dual nature of the legend -- rewarding the good, punishing the bad. He was not only feared but also got children to behave nicely through the year so that they could receive gifts during Christmas. Belsnickel is the first character in the history of Christmas … Belsnickel is related to other companions of Saint Nicholas in the folklore of German-speaking Europe. When large groups of Germans emigrated to Pennsylvania, many Dutch communities held on to the legend of Belsnickel. The Belsnickel story here is an amalgamation of Belsnickel tales that I have heard all of my life.
The figure is also preserved in Pennyslvanian Dutch communities. Belsnickel was a companion figure to Santa Claus or St. Nicholas. This sprightly guy was called “Belsnickel,” which means “Trickster in Furs.” His visits were greeted with mixed feelings, for in one hand he carried a switch, to be used as a type of paddle on youngsters who had “behaved poorly” during the previous year. He is described as a human dressed in furs and bearing a switch. There had been a warning in Granny’s tale, and sorrow, and a dire promise. She had felt the wrongness without being able to name it, and she knew … Old Fon, The Snollygaster, Old Saul).
The story of the wolf and the story of the Belsnickel had spun together somehow, and she could not separate the two. He may have been based on an older German myth, Knecht Ruprecht, a servant of Saint Nicholas and a character from northern Germany. Emma’s thoughts turned to Marty, slouching about in darkness and solitude, bearing gifts. Germany was known to have both happy and grim gift-bringers, and the Belsnickel was the very grim one. There was something wrong there, she knew. He served in a scouting role, checking to see which of the little German boys and girls had been naughty and nice. The Story Of Belsnickel Was Brought To Pennsylvania From Germany The figure in folklore originated in the Southwestern region of Germany. Some believed that Belsnickel was a companion or servant to Saint Nicholas who traveled alone. Belsnickel is a crotchety, fur-clad gift bringing figure in the folklore of the region of southwestern Germany. Unlike those figures, Belsnickel does not accompany Saint Nicholas but instead visits alone and combines both the threatening and the benign aspects which in other traditions are divided between the Saint Nicholas and the companion figure. The Story Belsnickel was a popular Christmas character developed around the Middle Ages in European countries. Many of the tidbits that you will read in my story come from … *The Story behind Belsnickel* In the Rhine Provinces of Germany, Saint Nicholas was accompanied by Peltz Nickel, a boy with a blackened face, a beard, and rattling chains, who walked on all fours to represent the donkey the Christ child rode. The Christkind (Christ child) was represented by a little girl dressed in white.
My Grandmaw Mary always said that the Belsnickel lived up on North Mountain rocks, up the mountain from where we lived.