Everybody Loves a Snowman
A Brief History of the Iconic Winter Friend
Every winter, you drive or walk in your neighborhood, and you see that one that has a made-a-man out of snow. I know that some of you had already built a snowman when you were a kid, or you are doing it with your kids. But have you ever wondered how this fun activity got started? The answer is quite interesting!
Origin of the Snowman
The earliest written record of people making a man out of snow came from the 1380 book of hours. They started to become famous as a free way to make art in the winter. Like the ice sculptures we see today, it was fun for couples to stroll and see the great works of snow art, even from soon-to-be-famous artists like Michelangelo.
During the Winter of 1511, the city of Brussels held a festival where everyone created snowmen tableaux that were told in stories everywhere in the town. And these depicted tales varied from political to pornography.
Snowmen even showed up in North America through the 1690 Schenectady Massacre. To get out of a blizzard, the soldiers guarding Fort Schenectady made snowmen to guard the gates for them. As you can tell, that wasn’t a smart move. The massacre was a conflict between Mohawk and Dutch settlers that resulted in the death of over 100 people, including women and children. This led to a significant amount of European settlement on what is now New York State’s territory and an increase in trade with Native Americans who were trying to protect their land from encroachment by Europeans at this time.
Conclusion
As you now know, we have been creating a man out of snow. But, of course, I haven’t forgotten about the Christmas song Frosty the Snowman. I don’t think that the snowman is a Christmas symbol; it’s rather a symbol of fun during the cold winter months.
What do you all think?
References
Eckstein, B. (n.d.). The Fun and Frosty History of Snowmen. Farmers’ Almanac. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.farmersalmanac.com/fun-frosty-history-snowmen-29341
Eckstein, B. (2021, October 21). History of the Snowman: Fascinating Snowman Facts Beyond Frosty. Reader’s Digest. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.rd.com/article/history-of-the-snowman/
Sauer, P. (2016, December 5). The True, Weird History Of Where The Snowman Came From. Fatherly. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.fatherly.com/play/snowman-history/
Snowman. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowman
