Creation of Snowman – history, meaning and tradition

Dutch Queen Wilhelmina and Princess Juliana as snowmen in the Netherlands (1913). Creation of Snowman
Creation of Snowman
In Russia, there is a good proverb “Prepare the sled in summer, and cart in winter”. Indeed, when, if not in summer to write about the most cheerful winter ritual – making snowman. Meanwhile, the tradition is very ancient. Thus, the first written mention of a snowman dates back to the 13th century. Interestingly, believe it or not, but first snowman was an evil character! That’s why many wanted him to melt. In fact, snowman represented frost, blizzard, short daylight hours, cold and other winter woes! Indeed, Snowman was the spirit of winter since ancient pagan times. Nevertheless, surrounded by a lot of prejudice, Snowman has survived. And in some areas of tsarists Russia, instead of January people used the word “snowman”! In addition, some sources also claim that the Slavs believed in living in the winter sky some nymphs who commanded snow, fog and snowstorm. And they sculpted snowmen to glorify and to honor them.
More »