More from the article ...

... Q: Where did snowmen come from?

Although many people assume that snowmen have been around as long as we have, American snowman expert Bob Eckstein set out to learn who, in fact, made the first snowman.

Of course, direct physical evidence of all previous snowmen "is long melted," Mr. Eckstein quips. So he scoured museums, libraries, and other archives, and interviewed historians from all over the globe. His seven-year quest is described in his book "The History of the Snowman."

Mr. Eckstein says that researchers and historians have told him that Taoist texts exist from seventh-century China that show Buddha's followers were given the "blessing" to make snow figures of the religious teacher.

But Mr. Eckstein found the first known depiction of a snowman -- a satirical cartoon figure, drawn in the margins, that he says mocks Judaism and Christianity -- in "The Book of Hours." This volume of prayers dates to 1380 and is held at the Royal Library in The Hague.

Nearly 200 years later, in a winter festival known as the Miracle of 1511, people in Brussels lined the streets with more than 100 lewd and satirical snow figures to protest against the Holy Roman Empire.

Mr. Eckstein describes it as "an early form of political commentary," a Woodstock-like event held by illiterate residents who felt otherwise powerless against their rulers. ...