| Snowmen | |
|---|---|
 In this illustration from 1867, a snowman is surrounded by children. | |
|
Other Names |
Snowmen, Yukidaruma, etc. |
|
First Recorded Appearance |
Book of Hours (1380) found in The Royal Library of the Netherlands |
|
Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
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.
In North America, snowmen are generally built with three spheres representing the head, torso, and lower body. In the United Kingdom, two spheres are used, one sphere representing the body and one representing the head.
The earliest documentation of snowmen was found in the marginal illustration from a 1380 book of hours, found in the The Royal Library of the Netherlands in The Hague. Michelangelo was commissioned by Piero de' Medici to make a snowman in 1494. 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. In 1511, the city of Brussels held a snowman festival in hopes of appeasing its hungry and poor citizens.
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.
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. There is also a longstanding tradition in Japan of creating snow rabbits, or "Yukiusagi" (Japanese: 雪うさぎ).
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of snowmen from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- The Snowman (1861): The Snowman is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a snowman who falls in love with a stove.
- Toodles of Treasure Town and Her Snow Man, by Frederic Chapin (1908)
- “The Baby Bears’ Third Adventure,” by Grace G. Drayton (Jan. 1914)
- A Year with the Fairies, by Anna M. Scott (1914)
- Bubbleloon, by Edith Keeley Stokely (1926)
Public Domain Animated Appearances[]
- The Snowman (1933): An Inuit boy and his Arctic animal friends accidentally bring a monstrous, ravenous snowman to life.
- Frosty the Snowman (1950): A three-minute long film adaptation of the famous Christmas carol made by UPA.
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (December 6, 1964): Sam the Snowman serves as the special's narrator, telling the story and performing songs with the accompaniment of his banjo, and inviting the audience to "pull up an iceblock and lend an ear."
Public Comic Domain Appearances[]
- Four Color Comics #359, 435, 514, 601, 661, 748, 661, 755, 861, 864, 950, 1065, 1153, 1272
- The Littlest Snowman
- Tally-Ho Comics
- Christmas Carnival #1-2
- Little Jack Frost #1
- Unusual Tales #47
- Tales of Horror #10
- More Fun Comics #29
- Famous Funnies #40
- Peter Rabbit #26, 28
- Spunky #4
- Purple Claw #2
Notes[]
- In Pokémon the Ice Type Galarian Forms of Darumaka and Darmanitan are based on the Yeti, whereas Darmanitan's Zen Mode which is Ice/Fire is based on the Snowman.