We have no idea how many nutcrackers you can find around during Nutcracker season....how many would you guess?! The nutcracker doll's history started as a functional nut-cracking tool in 17th-century Germany. They evolved into carved wooden figures of soldiers, kings, and animals that symbolized good luck...mass production by Friedrich Wilhelm Fuchtner in the 1870s made them popular. Tchaikovsky's 1892 ballet boosted their popularity. | Flint Institute of Music