The biggest snowman on earth. The biggest snowman (15 photos)

Snowman.

Snowman(aka - snow woman) - a simple snow sculpture. Making a snowman is a winter pastime that originated in ancient times.

Story

Snowmen have been known for a very long time, although the first evidence of them dates back to the 14th-15th centuries. According to historians, snowmen appeared in prehistoric times, since from the very beginning of fine art, any available material was used for it, and snow was available and easily processed.

Picture of a snowman in a book from 1380

The most ancient depiction of a snowman dates back to the end of the 14th century, in the Book of Hours (manuscript KA 36, around 1380, p. 78v) in the margin there is a snowman roasting on a fire. Eckstein believes that the strange hat on the snowman's head should symbolize a Jew, and attributes the image to manifestations of anti-Semitism.

Snowmen were quite popular in the Middle Ages, usually taking the form of realistic snow sculptures. Eckstein notes the lack of early written evidence, attributing this to both the onset of the Little Ice Age in the 14th century and the absence of newspapers before the invention of printing in the 15th century. The earliest record of a snowman dates back to 1408, when the Florentine wine merchant Bartolomeo del Corazza (Italian: Bartolomeo del Corazza) wrote in his diary about an unforgettable snow sculpture two braccia high (about 120 cm).

Design

Snowman in Germany

A classic snowman consists of three snow globes (balls), obtained by making snowballs and rolling the lying snow onto them. The largest lump becomes the snowman's belly, the smaller one becomes the chest, and the smallest one becomes the head. Realizations of the rest of the body may vary, but there is a canonical representation of a snowman. Real snowmen may not live up to it, but it is common in fairy tales and cartoons.

The snowman's hands can be represented by two branches, but symbolic hands are sometimes made from two small lumps of snow. The snowman is often given a shovel or broom, which is stuck into the snow next to the figure. Sometimes the snowman is equipped with two feet made of snowballs, as if peeking out from under the skirt of his fur coat. The canon requires that the snowman's nose be made of carrots (carrots were well preserved until winter in old Russian peasant farms), but in the reality of modern conditions, more accessible materials at hand (pebbles, sticks, coals) are often used, which denote other facial features. Sometimes a bucket is placed on the snowman's head.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the typical snowman was a realistic snow sculpture.

In the 21st century, store-bought inflatable snowmen are used as holiday decorations instead of rolled-up snow. Stores also sell ready-made kits (hats, buttons, imitation coal and carrots), and the snowmen start to look alike.

The image of a snowman is also used in design and as souvenirs. As a decorative element, a snowman is made from paper, fabric, or thread.

In culture

At least two famous sculptors became famous for their (realistic) snowmen: Larkin Mead (English)Russian, whose career began with "The Snow Angel", and Alexandre Falguière, who on December 8, 1870, as a soldier during the Franco-Prussian War, created the statue "The Resistance" (French: La Resistance) as part of the "Museum of Snow on Bastion 84" ( Many other artists and sculptors served in the 17th company of the 19th battalion).

Michelin Bibendum 2012

The snowman is actively used in advertising. Unlike other winter characters, it is convenient because it does not evoke religious associations (although in 2015 one of the imams in Saudi Arabia issued a fatwa prohibiting Muslims from making snowmen) and therefore expands the demographic reach of advertising. Its whiteness allows you to advertise a lot of products that resemble snow: salt, flour, sugar, toothpaste, etc. The snowman evokes a feeling of novelty, cleanliness, freshness - and allows you to sell not only laundry and personal hygiene products, but even cigarettes (after all, he exhales “fresh air”). The figure of a snowman is associated with brands such as English. Snoboy and Michelin.

Frosty the snowman gained the greatest popularity in the English-speaking world - first in the song of the same name (English)Russian in 1949, then in the film The Adventures of Frosty the Snowman, and in dozens of books and short films.

The image of the snowman has proven popular in films, from obvious successes like The Snowman (English)Russian» R. Briggs (English)Russian and nominated for an Oscar in 1965. Help! My Snowman's Burning Down to the disastrous "Jack Frost" (which even Michael Keaton could not save). The Adventures of Frosty the Snowman received four sequels. Frosty, the creators of whose graphic image were inspired by the creations of P. Cocker (English)Russian, a cartoonist for Mad magazine, gave birth to the modern unified figure of a snowman, familiar to residents of Western Europe and America from gift shops and cartoons.

In Russian New Year's fairy tales and cartoons, he often appears as a companion of Father Frost.

Record-breaking snowmen

One of the largest snowmen was rolled up in February 1999 in Bethel, Maine. He was named "Angus, King of the Hill" in honor of Angus King, then governor of Maine. The snowman was 35 meters tall and weighed more than 4,000 tons.

In 2008, they made a snowman even larger there: 37 meters high and weighing 6,000 tons. The snow woman listed in the Guinness Book was named after Olympia Snowe, a senator from Maine.

In anticipation of Christmas 2010, English scientist David Cox, a member of the Quantum Division of the National Physical Laboratory in London, together with colleagues created a snowman symbol from two peas of a 0.01 mm tin alloy. The snowman's nose is made of platinum and its diameter is only 0.001 mm. The snowman's face and smile were carved using a focused ion beam.

Festivals

Six-ring

There are hundreds of snowman-related festivals around the world every year, from a golf tournament in Pennsylvania that ends with golf balls being shot at a snowwoman on the ice of Lake Wallenpaupack (English)Russian before the grand holidays in Harbin and Sapporo.

In Russia, the most famous is the Siberian Snow Sculpture Festival, which has been taking place since 2000 in Novosibirsk.

The life of a snow woman ends unusually during the Six Bells in Zurich: a snowman stuffed with explosives (made of cotton wool) is placed in a fire. According to legend, the faster it explodes, the hotter the summer will be.

Snow Maiden

It is assumed that in Rus' snowmen were revered as the spirits of winter, and that they were asked for help, mercy and to reduce the duration of cold weather. Perhaps that is why the snowman was given a broom in his “hands” - so that he could fly into the sky. It is possible that in Rus' they once believed that the air was inhabited by heavenly maidens who commanded fogs, clouds, and snow, and therefore solemn rituals were organized in their honor, including the sculpting of snow women. Most likely, the snowman (snow woman) represents an ambivalent figure in the archetypal structure of myth. A deep comparative analysis of Slavic legends and beliefs in connection with the mythological tales of other peoples by A. N. Afanasyev suggests that the snowman is a heavenly nymph created by man from snow, who fell dead to the ground as a result of a mythical battle between the gods of thunder (lightning, cold) and clouds Having melted in the spring, the heavenly nymph came to life, ascending as steam into the sky, and could again bring rain to the earth, which was required for the growth of the crop. That's why people made snowmen in the winter, hoping for a good harvest in the fall.

Unicode

Unicode snowman character: U+2603.(☃ )

Notes

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Sheila A. Bergner. Snowman crafts. Publications International, 2004. 64 p. (English)
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Saudi imam bans Muslims from making snowmen - Russian Wikinews

Snowy winter provides people with a lot of interesting entertainment. If there is a lot of snow, then making a snowman is a cute thing. People have been making snowmen and snowmen from time immemorial. According to historians, the first person to create a snow figure was the Italian poet, architect and sculptor Michelangelo Buonarotti.

He made his snowman back in 1493 (late 15th century). True, the dimensions of this product remained a secret for posterity.

Residents of the city of Bethel (USA) decided not to waste time on trifles, and approached this exciting activity on a grand scale. The world's largest snowman stood proudly above its surroundings in February 2008. People made it with their own hands in 2 weeks. The snowman, or rather the snow woman, received the name “Olympia SnowWoman”. There was even a separate website dedicated to this snowy masterpiece. There are photographs of a giant snowman posted there, as well as the history of its creation.

The parameters of the snow woman are impressive! Its height was 37 m. The arms were made from medium-sized trees. The biggest snowman in the world was under the control of local residents for quite a long time, but still melted in the middle of summer.

To create such a snow giant, 6,000 tons of snow were spent. Construction work was carried out using special equipment. The snow woman's lips were covered with red paint, and for an expressive look, she had eyelashes made from ski poles. The snowman was knitted with a scarf about 40 m long, and a pendant in the shape of a snowflake was hung on his chest. For the pendant we took 24 kg of mica. The finishing touch was the red cap that adorned the head of the “Olympia SnowWoman”.

The previous snowman record holder was Angus King, named after the governor of Maine. It was also made in Bethel in 1999. The height of this snowy specimen was 34 m. He was recognized as the largest snowman in the world and was included in the Guinness Book of Records.

Fabric snowman

If we look at Europe, the residents of Riga (Latvia) were able to see the giant snowman with their own eyes. However, it was not made of snow, but of matter. The organization "Annels Egles" sewed a handsome New Year's figure during the week. 250 square meters were spent on the snowman. m of fabric. Its height exceeded 10 m, and the area it occupied was 30x30 m. The snowman decorated the site in the very center of Riga, next to the Alfa shopping center. This biggest snowman in the world made from material.

Ice cream snowman

On December 31, 2000, an unusual snowman was made in the Russian capital. It was a unique object because it was made from ice cream. The process took place on Sretenka, in one of the cafes. Famous cultural figures, stars and their children were invited to the event. All together, the guests made a snowman, the final weight of which was 154 kg.

To carry out an interesting promotion, the cafe management ordered a huge amount of high-quality ice cream. The supplier was a well-known Moscow refrigeration plant. The hero of the day was made tricolor, taking the Russian national flag as an example. The world's largest ice cream snowman is included in the Guinness Book of Records. After the record was recorded, it was sent to the kitchen, where it was divided into portions.

Snowman Olimpia SnowWoman

As a child, you look forward to both summer and winter equally... Winter is a great opportunity to skate on the ice, play in the snow... and make snowmen! Almost everyone whose climate zone allows them has sculpted beautiful snow women with carrot noses. But, as it turns out, there are also adults who love this activity. In the City of Bethel (USA) craftsmen were found - and they built (the word “fashioned” is hard to write) a beauty - Olimpia SnowWoman, whose height is 37 meters 20 centimeters!

Making a Giant Snowman

It took 6 thousand tons of snow to create the largest snowman in the world, and the work (which was very reminiscent of the construction of a concrete structure) lasted 2 weeks. However, the beauty’s advantages are not limited to size! To make her smile captivate, Olimpia SnowWoman's lips made from car tires were painted red. And to make the eyes more expressive, they made lush eyelashes from 16 skis.

A forty-meter scarf was knitted for the “girl,” which took place on her neck next to a two-meter pendant in the shape of a snowflake, the production of which took 23 kg of mica. The snow lady's arms are made of Canadian spruce trees, each 9 meters long. And finally, the finishing touch - a specially made red hat adorned the head of the 37-meter beauty. In the context of these enormous beauties, we should also mention schoolchildren from all over the area, because it was they who helped make accessories for the snow lady.

The giant melted only in July

This action took place in February 2008, and the white giant disappeared already in the middle of June. But Olimpia SnowWoman still has a website with a blog and photos where you can take a good look at it and discuss it!

Interestingly, in the same city in 1999, a 34-meter-high snowman was built, named Angus King, in honor of the state governor. He was also included in the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest snowman in the world at that time.

The largest snowman in Europe

The largest snowman in Europe was made in the city of Riga, Latvia, in December 2009. There it was decided to make it from fabric. The company "Annels Egles" took care of its creation. It took two seamstresses a little over a week to sew the New Year's giant. Its creation took 250 square meters of fabric, the height of the snowman was more than 10 meters, and it was located on an area of 30x30 meters. This giant was installed near the Alfa shopping center in the center of Riga.

Winter is most often associated with the New Year, roller coasters and, of course, snowmen. With the onset of winter, when the snow is just beginning to fall, the children are already trying to make a snowman. Have you ever wondered if there is at least one record holder in the Guinness Book of Records for sculpting the largest snowman?

I thought about it and it turns out that it exists! I will tell you about the biggest snowman and who built it in this article. The largest snowman, or rather the snow woman, “grew up” in the USA, Maine. It took one month for the people of Bethel to build it. The big snowman was named Olympia in honor of the local senator Olympia Snowy. The height of the snow beauty is 37m 21cm. The construction of the large snowman was completed on February 26, but the “miracle” of snow could completely melt only at the end of July.

The snow woman was made from various materials, for example, the body consisted of six tons of snow, and the lips were made of car tires painted scarlet. The snowman's arms were made of spruce trees 9 meters long, and his eyelashes consisted of sixteen skis! Gigantic in size.

The decoration of the largest snow woman was a pendant with a snowflake weighing about 23 kg, a scarf - 40 meters and a hat. It's surprising that fans of rolling snowballs broke their own record, set in 2009. Then enthusiasts made a giant snowman measuring 35 m and they named him Angus.

It turns out that such stories happen and make us marvel at the endurance and perseverance of such people.