Did you know that the Smurfs are Belgian and actually named Schtroumpfs? Yes, like Tintin, the Smurfs were created by a Belgian. Georges Rémi created the Tintin empire, but it was Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, pen name Peyo, who gave birth to the Smurfs/Schtroumpfs. Smurf is the Dutch translation of Schtroumpf.
Legend has it that Peyo wanted a friend to pass him the salt, but the word momentarily escaped him, so he called it “schtroumpf” (passe-moi le schtroumpf). The two friends spent the weekend goofing around with the word, creating a whole schtroumpf language. The schtroumpfs first appeared in a magazine in 1958.
The smurf cap is based on the Phrygian Cap, adopted as the symbol of French liberty during the French Revolution.
I prefer the name Schtroumpf to Smurf. It sounds almost Yiddish: schmuck, schlemiel, etc. Too bad Hannah-Barbera didn’t use it when they began producing the cartoons in 1981
Cynthia Tuttelman (aka "Tut") is a writer, family doctor and quilter who lives in Northern California and part-time each year in Paris, France. Follow along and explore the wonders of Paris.