National Snowman Burning Day
Lighting up chilly effigies as winter wanes, this fiery tradition ushers in the warmth and vibrancy of the approaching spring.
Celebrate the quirky, niche tradition of snowman burning as a symbolic end-of-winter ritual to drive engagement with campus communities and cultural enthusiasts.
- Behind the flames: the weird history of burning snowmen at Lake Superior State University
- Spring symbolism meets winter goodbye—why college students are still burning snowmen in 2024
- From German festivals to campus traditions: how one university turned snowman burning into a March ritual
For those curious, snowman burning is exactly as it sounds; it involves burning snowmen.
The tradition began back in March of 1971 when National Snowman Burning Day was first celebrated at Lake Superior State University (LSSU) by the Unicorn Hunters, a campus club that focused on removing unnecessary words from the English language.
Although the club doesn’t exist anymore, the idea was inspired when some of the members of the club visited the ‘Rose Sunday Festival’ in Germany, where they saw the mayor passes through the town with a straw snowman.
According to reports, if the children have been well-behaved, studied hard and obeyed their parents, the mayor orders the straw snowman to be burned.
Finding inspiration from this event alongside experiencing the ends of a cold harsh winter in Michigan, the club began the tradition of burning snowmen based off of the rumor that the rising smoke rising from the fire would ward off blizzards and usher in spring-like weather.
After capitalizing off of the event, it became the university’s long-lasting tradition for over decades to welcome the coming of spring.
The snowmen they use today are made out of wood, paper destined for the recycling bin, along with some straw, wire and some paint, standing up to 12 feet tall.
In 1992, it was reported that the event was canceled due to environmental concerns. However, after the push from the public, the event was allowed again as part of Michigan tradition to keep the snowmen burning.