Day of the Snowman: Would you have known?

It is now over 400 years since the first snowman was written about in world literature. In 1595, none other than William Shakespeare put down on paper in his drama "Richard II", which apparently delighted more than just children at the time. On today's World Snowman Day, we tell you a little more about this rather chilly contemporary, who brings a smile to our faces even on the frostiest winter days.

Idee für mich
via Anna-Lisa
01/19/2017, 10:22
Kleines Mädchen mit Schneemann© fotolia
For today's Day of the Snowman...
Ein lächelnder Schneemann mit pinkfarbener Nase© picture alliance
... we tell you the story of the sweet, somewhat undercooled contemporary.
© picture alliance
The first pictorial evidence dates back to the 18th century. Here is "The Snowman" by A. Hendschel
"Winter pleasures" from 1890

O that I were a king clenched in snow for a joke, and here, standing before Bolingbroke's sun, would melt away in drops of water,

This is how King Richard II of England laments his fate in William Shakespeare's drama of the same name. This is the first reference to the snowman in world literature. The drama was written around 1595, but it was several years before people began to enjoy building snowmen.

The first images of snowmen appeared in the 18th century. At that time, however, the frozen contemporary was seen more as a symbol of harsh winters, recognizable by the distorted expressions on the faces of the people looking at him. It was not until a century later, in the 19th and especially the 20th century, that the snowman increasingly came to symbolize an idyllic winter.