Why Do Snowmen Have Carrot Noses?

One of the most popular things to do with snow, other than to have a snowball fight is to build a snowman.

The tradition has been passed on from generation to generation, alongside tales of snowmen at Christmas.

But why do we dress a snowman a certain way and more importantly why a carrot for a nose?

Let’s have a look at the history of snowmen and see if we can find out where the tradition began.

Why do we build snowmen?

We all know snowmen are great fun at Christmas but let’s go a little deeper than that.

Let us start with a little bit of background into where the tradition originated.

Throughout history, we have associated the seasons and times of the year with personifications.

The winter season in Greek Mythology would have been referred to as “Old Man Winter” and across other cultures, there are similar representations.

Jack Frost was one of the first personifications of winter that was written about across literature in the late 19th Century.

This is believed to be the reason behind the construction of the snowman.

The snowman is another form of Old Man Winter and the tradition of building one has been around for hundreds of years.

This character of Old Man Winter was said to leave a frosty air in his presence and be a cold and fierce character, much like the harshness that winter brings.

Many of these personalities and traits have fed into our representation of snowmen and this is where his sometimes scary and fierce characteristics come from.

Why a carrot for a nose?

Using a carrot for a snowman’s nose is a global tradition when it comes to constructing a snowman.

It is unsure why this is a common trend and there are many theories that suggest why we automatically use this vegetable.

Some of the earliest depictions of snowmen date back as far as the 1300s and they show snowmen with long pointed noses.

It could be that the carrot was used to emphasize this feature of snowmen.

They were represented as fierce and cold characters, so a pointy nose was a common way of making them appear harsh.

Much like we associate witches with a hooked or pointed nose, it was important for a snowman to carry these defined characteristics.

Other objects have been used throughout history for a snowman’s nose, things such as buttons and coal but the carrot is the most iconic item to use.

Traditionally a snowman would have coal for eyes and small pieces of coal to make a mouth.

The nose however would have been made from whatever resources were around at the time.

Who was the first snowman with a carrot nose?

The first known snowman character to have a carrot for a nose featured in the German animation “Der Schneemann”, which was created in 1943.

In English, “Der Schneemann”, is known as “The Snowman” or “Snowman in July”.

This was one of the first representations of a snowman being naïve and that made the audience feel sorry for him.

Throughout history, snowmen were associated with harsh winters and strength, but this was when snowmen started to become adored cartoon characters.

This suggests that the tradition originated in Europe and possibly more specifically Germany, as there had not been depictions of a snowman with a carrot nose before this time.

Characters that win the hearts of the viewers will then often be represented in their lives, and this could have been the start of the tradition of using a carrot for a nose.