A snowman is an anthropomorphic snow sculpture of a man often built in regions with sufficient snowfall and is a common winter tradition. In many places, typical snowmen consist of three large snowballs of different sizes with some additional accoutrements for facial and other features. Due to the sculptability of snow, there is also a wide variety of other styles. Common accessories include branches for arms and a smiley face made of stones, with a carrot used for a nose. Clothing, such as a hat or scarf, may be included.
Snow becomes most suitable for packing when it approaches its melting point and becomes moist and compact. Making a snowman of powdered snow is difficult since it will not stick to itself, and if the temperature of packing snow drops, it will form an unusable denser form of powdered snow called the crust. Thus, a good time to build a snowman may be the next warm afternoon directly following a snowfall with a sufficient amount of snow. Using more compact snow allows for the construction of a large snowball by simply rolling it until it grows to the desired size. If the snowball reaches the bottom of the grass it may pick up traces of grass, gravel, or dirt.
In North America, snowmen are generally built with three spheres representing the head, torso, and lower body. [1] In the United Kingdom, two spheres are used, one sphere representing the body and one representing the head. The usual practice is to then decorate and optionally dress the snowman. Sticks can be used for arms, and a face is traditionally made with stones or coal for eyes and a carrot for a nose. Some like to dress their snowmen in clothing such as a scarf or hat, while others prefer not to risk leaving supplies outdoors where they could easily be stolen or become stuck under melting ice.
There are variations to these standard forms; for instance, the popular song "Frosty the Snowman" describes a snowman being decorated with a corncob pipe, button nose, coal eyes and an old silk hat (usually depicted as a top hat). These other types range from snow columns to elaborate snow sculptures similar to ice sculptures.
One book describes classic snowman attachments as a black felt top hat, red scarf, coal eye pieces, carrot nose, and corn cob pipe. [2]
Documentation of the first snowman is unclear. However, Bob Eckstein, author of The History of the Snowman, documented snowmen from the Middle Ages by researching artistic depictions in European museums, art galleries, and libraries. The earliest documentation he found was an antisemitic marginal illustration from a 1380 book of hours, found in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in The Hague. [3] [4] Michelangelo was commissioned by Piero de' Medici to make a snowman in 1494. [5] The earliest known photograph of a snowman was taken circa 1853 by Welsh photographer Mary Dillwyn, the original of which is in the collections of the National Library of Wales.
While the origin of snowmen remains unclear, they have been used throughout history to make statements. In 1511, the city of Brussels held a snowman festival in hopes of appeasing its hungry and poor citizens. However, instead of building snowmen, the people built pornographic sculptures throughout the city. [6]
The concept of snowmen had made its way to North America by the Schenectady Massacre of 1690. It is said that on the night of the massacre, two guards who were in charge of guarding the north gate of the settlement of Schenectady built two snowmen to guard the gates while they went to the pub. [7]
Snowmen became more popular when the character “Frosty the Snowman” came out, which originated from a song of the same name in 1950. [8] [9]
Snowmen are a popular theme for Christmas and winter decorations and also in children's media. A famous snowman character is Frosty, the titular snowman in the popular holiday song "Frosty the Snowman" (later adapted into film and television specials), who was magically brought to life by the old silk hat used on his head. In addition to numerous related music and other media for Frosty, snow-men also feature as:
Snowmen can also be a theme for toys, costumes, and decorations. They have been featured on New Year stamps, for example, in Russia and other post-Soviet states.
One common time for snowman-themed decorations is during the winter holiday and Christmas season, where it is celebrated. [11] One craft book suggested a plan making a small snowman doll out of white glove, ribbon, and other craft supplies. [11]
One book on snowmen, which included instructions on working with real snow, also mentions snowman-themed sweets and confections. [12] Some options for snowman-themed dessert items include ice cream, marshmallows, and macaroons. [12]
In 2015, a man from the U.S. State of Wisconsin was noted for making a large snowman 22 feet tall and with a base 12 feet wide. [13]
The record for the world's largest snowman or snowwoman was set in 2008 in Bethel, Maine. The snowwoman stood 122 feet 1 inch (37.21 m) in height, and was named Olympia in honor of Olympia Snowe, a U.S. Senator representing the state of Maine. [14] [15]
The previous record was a snowman built in Bethel, Maine, in February 1999. The snowman was named "Angus, King of the Mountain" in honor of the then-current governor of Maine, Angus King. It was 113 feet 7 inches (34.62 m) tall and weighed over 9,000,000 pounds (4,080,000 kg). [16]
A large snowman known as "Snowzilla" has been built each winter in Anchorage, Alaska.
In December 2016 the smallest snowman of sorts was created in a nano-fabrication facility at University of Western Ontario. [17] It consisted of three roughly 0.9 micron spheres of silica, platinum arms and nose, and a face made by an ion beam. [17]
In addition to snowmen, other things can be made from snow. Typical variations on the snowman concept involve producing other snow creatures or snow decorations.
A snow sculpture of a woman is called a snowwoman.
The Yuki Cone, named after the Japanese word for snow, involves building a small cone-shaped structure from snowballs, illuminated from the inside with a tea-light.
Sometimes other raw material might be used to create objects that mimic the snowman concept.
In Japanese, snowmen are called "Yukidaruma" (Japanese : 雪だるま). Possibly because the shape is related to a Daruma doll, they usually only have two sections instead of three. [18] There is also a longstanding tradition in Japan of creating snow rabbits, or "Yukiusagi" (Japanese : 雪うさぎ). [19]
Sample | Unicode | HTML | Description |
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☃ | U+2603 | ☃ | Snowman |
⛄ | U+26C4 | ⛄ | Snowman without snow |
⛇ | U+26C7 | ⛇ | Black snowman |
A snowball is a spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands and pressing the snow together to compact it into a ball. Snowballs are often used in games such as snowball fights.
The Snowman is a 1982 British animated television film and symphonic poem based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 picture book The Snowman. It was directed by Dianne Jackson for Channel 4. It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an immediate success. It was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 55th Academy Awards and won a BAFTA TV Award.
Der Schneemann, also known as The Snowman, Snowman in July or The Magic Snowman, is a 1944 animated short film, created in Nazi Germany. It was written by cartoonist Horst von Möllendorff and animated by Hans Fischerkoesen. It was animated in Potsdam, Germany, near UFA's Neubabelsberg Studios.
Jack Frost is a personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, winter, and freezing cold. He is a variant of Old Man Winter who is held responsible for frosty weather, nipping the fingers and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, and leaving fern-like patterns on cold windows in winter.
"Frosty the Snowman" is a popular winter song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 and later recorded by Jimmy Durante in that year. It was written after the success of Autry's recording of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" the previous year. Rollins and Nelson shopped the new song to Autry, who recorded "Frosty" in search of another seasonal hit. Like "Rudolph", "Frosty" was subsequently adapted to other media including a popular television special.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a 1964 stop motion Christmas animated television special produced by Videocraft International, Ltd. It first aired December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the United States and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour. The special was based on the 1949 Johnny Marks song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" which was itself based on the poem of the same name written in 1939 by Marks's brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS. The network unveiled a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the program in 2005, re-scanned frame-by-frame from the original 35 mm film elements.
A snow fort or snow castle is a usually open-topped temporary structure made of snow walls that is usually used for recreational purposes. Snow forts are generally built by children as a playground game or winter pastime and are used as defensive structures in snowball fights. They are also built and used for make-believe games such as "house", "store", or "community", a game where multiple forts are built in a group. Along with the snowman, it is one of the two structures commonly built by children out of snow.
Snow sculpture, snow carving or snow art is a sculpture form comparable to sand sculpture or ice sculpture in that most of it is now practiced outdoors often in full view of spectators, thus giving it kinship to performance art. The materials and the tools differ widely, but often include hand tools such as shovels, pickle forks, homemade tools, and saws. Snow sculptures are usually carved out of a single block of snow about 6–15 ft (1.8–4.6 m) on each side and weighing about 20–30 tons. The snow is densely packed into a form after having been produced by artificial means or collected from the ground after a snowfall.
The Legend of Frosty the Snowman is a 2005 Christmas animated television special film that was simultaneously released direct-to-video, and produced by Classic Media, Studio B Productions and Top Draw Animation.
Jack Frost 2: The Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman is a 2000 American direct-to-video comedy slasher film written and directed by Michael Cooney. It is a sequel to Jack Frost (1997). It was completed in 1998, but not released until 2000.
Santa vs. the Snowman is a 1997 American animated Christmas comedy television special created by Steve Oedekerk and produced by O Entertainment. It originally aired on ABC on December 12, 1997, following The Online Adventures of Ozzie the Elf.
Frosty's Winter Wonderland is a 1976 animated Christmas television special and a standalone sequel to the 1969 special Frosty the Snowman, produced by Rankin/Bass Productions and animated by Topcraft. It is the second television special featuring the character Frosty the Snowman. It returns writer Romeo Muller, character designer Paul Coker, Jr., music composer Maury Laws and actor Jackie Vernon as the voice of Frosty, while Andy Griffith stars as the narrator with the rest of the cast consisting of Shelley Winters, Dennis Day and Paul Frees. The special premiered on ABC on December 2, 1976.
Frosty Returns is a 1992 American animated Christmas television special directed by Bill Melendez and Evert Brown, starring the voices of Jonathan Winters as the narrator and John Goodman as Frosty the Snowman. It is the fourth special in a series beginning with Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment's 1969 television adaptation of Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins's 1950 holiday song. It was produced in 1992 and released on VHS by Family Home Entertainment in 1993. It premiered on TV on December 19, 1993, on CBS.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys is a 2001 direct-to-video animated Christmas adventure musical film directed by Bill Kowalchuk for GoodTimes Entertainment. It was released on VHS and DVD on October 30, 2001. The film takes place after the events of the original special. The film thus revisits classic characters like Yukon Cornelius, Hermey the elf, Abominable Snow Monster, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, who is now famous in the North Pole.
Frosty the Snowman is a 1969 American animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. It is the first television special featuring the character Frosty the Snowman. The special first aired on December 7, 1969, on the CBS television network in the United States, airing immediately after the fifth showing of A Charlie Brown Christmas; both scored high ratings. The special has aired annually for the network's Christmas and holiday season every year since.
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July is an American-Japanese Christmas/Independence Day film produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, featuring characters from the company's holiday specials Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) and Frosty the Snowman (1969), among others. It was filmed in Japan using the company's trademark "Animagic" stop-motion animation style. The film was originally a theatrical film released through Avco Embassy Pictures, where it ran for only 2–3 weeks and was considered a box-office flop. Later that year, on November 25, 1979, the film premiered on television in the US on ABC.
Snowzilla is a giant snowman which has been erected each pre-Christmas season since 2005 in the front yard of private resident Billy Powers' home in Anchorage, Alaska. Keeping good on a promise to return again some day, Snowzilla reappeared in snowy and cold December 2023.
The Snowman and the Snowdog is a 2012 British animated short film. It is the sequel to The Snowman, and was created to mark the 30th anniversary of the original short film. The Snowman and the Snowdog is dedicated to John Coates and features a new song called "Light the Night" by Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows. The Snowman and the Snowdog won the Televisual Bulldog Award 2013 in the Best Children's category. It was also nominated for the British Academy Children's Award for Animation in 2013.
Snow Business is a provider of artificial snow for various entertainment industries. The company was founded by Darcey Crownshaw in 1982. Crownshaw was working in the paper industry when a production unit filming The Last Days of Pompeii for ABC-TV placed an order with his employers for three quarters of a ton of shredded grey cellulose paper to use as artificial volcanic ash. The firm would not deliver less than 20 tons so Crownshaw fulfilled the order himself using the padding from Jiffy bags. Crownshaw later supplied the same production unit with paper snow, and spotting a gap in the market established Snow Business.
The Miracle of 1511 was a festival in Brussels in which the locals built approximately 110 satirical snowmen. It is estimated that more than half of the snowmen portrayed pornographic or sexual characters. Examples of snowmen built included a snownun that was seducing a man, a snowman and a snowwoman having sex in front of the town fountain and a naked snowboy urinating into the mouth of a drunken snowman. There were also snow unicorns, snow mermaids, a snow dentist, and snow prostitutes enticing people into the city's red light district. Among the political snowmen created were "a snow virgin with a unicorn in her lap", that was built in front of the ducal palace in Coudenberg, the home of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. This was in protest to him being absent and instead living with his aunt Margaret of Austria in Malines.