How a Viking Boy Became a SnowMAN

The story of Frosty the snowman conjures images of carrot noses, coal eyes, and corn cob pipes, but few know the history behind this winter icon and why every year, we dedicate ice statues in his honor….

Many years ago, deep in the fiords of Norway a young child named Bjorn Bjornson was tending his sheep and puffing away on his pipe, unaware of the hungry wolf that watched him eagerly with salivating lips and glistening teeth. Bjorn was a fantastic farmer and his large protruding belly was testament to the fact that he had eaten well throughout the year.

As the smoke from his pipe became less and less dense Bjorn extinguished it and decided to take a stroll into his field to check on his flock that had suddenly become agitated. Just as he reached the middle of the field, Bjorn noticed the shining eyes of the starved wolf hiding at the edge of the woods. Bjorn’s experience told him that the wolf would never attack his sheep so long as he stood his ground. And so he did, unaware of the approaching blizzard that loomed on that fateful evening. As the snow fell and the cold set in, Bjorn refused to budge, and with the will of an ox, he remained in the same spot for 3 days.

The wolf never appeared and the sheep all survived. When the storm lifted and the towns people gathered around the frozen statue, a few of them began to dig in somber silence. All of a sudden a voice could be heard calling for his pipe… The voice of Bjorn Bjornson.

Bjorn had become a man and a legend in the eyes of his countrymen.

From that day on, whenever a storm blows in, ice statues of Bjorn can be seen all around the world in honor of his bravery, fortitude and manliness.