Belsnickel
![Picture of the Pennsylvania Dutch version of the Belsnickel, taken in the 1950s at an event near Philadelphia.](/Images/godic/202412/24/Belsnickel2707.jpg")
![Modern day Belsnickel in his travel attire on his way to scare children in the schools in Norwich, New York. December 2012.](/Images/godic/202412/24/Belsnickel_in_Modern_Day_Travel_Attire2707.JPG")
Belsnickel (also Belschnickel, Belznickle, Belznickel, Pelznikel, Pelznickel, from pelzen (or belzen, German for to wallop or to drub) and Nickel being a hypocorism of the given name Nikolaus) is a crotchety, fur-clad Christmas gift-bringer figure in the folklore of the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany along the Rhine, the Saarland, and the Odenwald area of Baden-Württemberg. The figure is also preserved in Pennsylvania Dutch communities.