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Who were BeLsnicklelers and Shanghai-ers? ?
At least as early as the 1950s, many German residents of the Valley of Virginia celebrated the Christmas season with the unique custom of“belsnickeling.”The tradition’s origins are murky but the name comes from the Germans of the Palatinate region where Belznickel, or Saint Nicholas, brought small gifts for good children. In the Valley of Virginia, this evolved into bands of costumed adults wandering on foot or horseback from house to house during the day or night, making as much noise as humanly possible. Belsnickelers disguised themselves with improvised masks. The trick was for the residents to guess who was behind the costume. Customs varied from community to community, and the practice was not appreciated among the Brethren, the Mennonites, and others who did not observe Christmas for religious reasons. Sometimes the Belsnicklers unmasked after the guessing, sometimes they were served spirits or food. In some areas the practice was restricted to Christmas Eve; in others it went on for the twelve days of Christmds. Belsnickeling, and a similar custom called Shanghai-ing which was practiced in Scots-Irish communities south of Winchester, declined in the twentieth century and finally disappeared after World War II.Brought to you by Encyclopedia Virginia at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. ,
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