Snowman

For information on the horse, see Snowman (horse).

A snowman is a man-like figure constructed from compacted snow. The image of a snowman is popularly connected with Christmas and is embedded in Western culture. Building a snowman is a popular winter recreation for children.

The symbol of snowman is ☃ (Unicode: 0x2603).

A snowman can be constructed by rolling a large ball of snow for a "body". A second (and often a third), smaller ball is placed on top, as a "head". Facial features, such as eyes and a mouth are traditionally added using coal or small stones, as are buttons. A nose may be added, using a piece of fruit or a vegetable, such as a carrot; sticks are sometimes added as arms. Snowmen are often depicted with a pipe and a hat.

In Lithuania a snowman is called "a man without brains". As a sign of protest against their government, in the winter of 2005, Lithuanians made 141 snowmen near their parliament—one for each Member of Parliament.

Japanese snowmen, 雪だるま (snow daruma) usually consist of two, instead of three, snowballs. Twigs are used for arms, pieces of charcoal for facial features, and a bucket is used for a hat. (see the Japanese version of this page for an example)

The comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes" used a running gag about snowmen, and building a snowman is an on-going winter project for Charlie Brown (see articles for details).

An abominable snowman is another name for a yeti.

Frosty the Snowman

Frosty the Snowman was a Tin Pan Alley novelty created by Jack Nelson and Steve Rollins in 1950, consciously made as a follow-up to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and sold to Gene Autry, who recorded it. The title was taken up for a children's book, illustrated by Corinne Malvern, and published in 1950 by Golden Books. It went on to become a popular children's television cartoon by Rankin & Bass in 1968. Frosty is the most famous snowman.

The Snowman

The Snowman is also a children's story written by British author Raymond Briggs which was turned into an animated film in 1982 by Dianne Jackson. See The Snowman article for further information on the book and film.