English National Ballet performing The Nutcracker Dec. 18, 2024

Every holiday season, as snow begins to fall and Christmas lights twinkle in the night, the story of "The Nutcracker" comes to life on stages around the world. Written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1892, this beloved ballet is based on E.T.A. Hoffmann"s fairy tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King." Set on Christmas Eve, it follows a young girl named Clara, who goes on an adventure with the Nutcracker Prince as they battle the evil Mouse King. Many renowned ballet companies present their rendition of this classic every year, including the New York City Ballet, the Boston Ballet and the English National Ballet, pictured here.

© Caroline Holden/Alamy Stock Photo

palette

Today in History

Gateway to Latin America
Dec. 18, 2023Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Dec. 18, 2025Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, United States

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Mar. 7, 2025Plum blossoms, China
Dec. 16, 2025Handmade gnomes at a Christmas market
Celebrating the tropics
Saving and celebrating honey bees
Dec. 7, 2025A pine forest in Alsace, France
Jun. 3, 2024World Bicycle Day
Oct. 22, 2025Belogradchik Rocks, Bulgaria
The only island in Lake Tahoe
Jun. 22, 2025World Rainforest Day
Apr. 17, 2025Andean cocks-of-the-rock, Ecuador
A bevy of buzzers
May 10, 2024Canadian Tulip Festival
Nov. 13, 2025Distillery Winter Village
Black sands in a tropical paradise
Mar. 28, 2025Black-naped monarch
Jul. 31, 2025Kalalau Beach on the Nā Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii, United States
Feb. 2, 2026Groundhog Day
Dec. 8, 2024Notre-Dame reopens
Aug. 28, 2024Paralympic Games begin in Paris
Mar. 23, 2025World Meteorological Day
Oct. 2, 2025Oxbow Bend on the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, United States
Apr. 19, 2024Ring of Brodgar, Orkney, Scotland
Apr. 12, 2025International Day of Human Space Flight
Go hug a mountain, if you can
A painters palette of natures hues
Jun. 23, 2024Dhaka, Bangladesh
Dec. 17, 2025Eurasian red squirrel in Northumberland, England
Beautiful from all angles
Jan. 6, 2024Vermilion Lakes, Banff
Feb. 22, 2024Bathing boxes at Brighton Beach, Australia