A snowman is an anthropomorphic snow sculpture.

History

In occidental cultures and the northern hemisphere, snowmen are considered a symbol of the winter holiday season for many, and they often appear on Christmas cards.

According to old diaries and chronicles, this activity dates back to at least the Middle Ages, when in Europe every new snowfall would find townsfolk making snowmen in the streets.

Construction

It is nearly impossible to build a snowman out of any type of snow other than packing snow. Packing snow is formed when regular powder snow comes near its melting point and becomes moist and compactible. This allows for the construction of large balls of snow by simply rolling a ball of snow until it grows the desired size. Attempting to make a snowman out of powdered snow is extremely difficult since it will not stick to itself. And if packing snow is not rolled into snowballs before it freezes, it will form an unusable denser form of powdered snow called crust. Thus the best time to build a snowman is usually in the next warmest afternoon directly following a snowfall with a sufficient amount of snow.

The common trend is to then dress the snowman, usually with rocks, wood sticks, and vegetables. Carrots are often used for the nose, as are sticks for arms and stones for eyes (traditionally lumps of coal, no longer commonly available). Some like to dress their snowmen in clothing (scarves, jackets, hats). Dressing a snowman in clothing insulates the snowman by keeping out the heat, which means a longer life for the snowman. However, some may prefer not to risk leaving supplies out doors where they could easily be stolen if someone were so maliciously inclined. Also, snowmen usually melt quite quickly on a hot day, which could cause clothing to become stuck under melting ice if not removed promptly.

In fiction

• Arktos, evil snowman in German animated Tabaluga'' series.
• Bouli, a French animated series about a snowman's adventures in a magical place.
• Der Schneemann, a 1943 animated short film created in Germany.
• Jack Frost (1998 film) a movie with Michael Keaton in which he wakes up as a snowman after a car accident.
• Jack Frost (1996 film) a horror movie in which a serial killer is transformed into a snowman.
• Rave Master a Japanese manga in which Plue, the hero's companion, resembles a small snowman.
• The Snowman British picture book (1978) by Raymond Briggs and animation (1982) directed by Dianne Jackson about a boy who builds a snowman that comes alive and takes him to the North Pole.
• Frosty, the titular snowman in the popular children's song Frosty the Snowman, had a corncob pipe, a button nose, and two eyes made out of coal.
• Calvin and Hobbes, an American cartoon by Bill Watterson, contains many instances of Calvin building snowmen, many of which are deformed or otherwise abnormal, often used to poke fun at the art world.
• Steven Millhauser in one of his collections of short stories, called in the penny arcade wrote a short story called snowmen in which children makes snowmen which are more and more elaborated.
• Snowmen Hunters, an internet adult oriented comedy series created by Christopher Allan Smith and Ryan Neisz.
• Snow Bros, an arcade game released in 1990 featuring two snowball-throwing snowmen as the protagonists.