Snegurochka (diminutive) or Snegurka ( rus, Снегу́рочка (diminutive), Снегу́рка, p=sʲnʲɪˈgurətɕkə, snʲɪˈgurkə), or The Snow Maiden, is a character in Russian fairy tales. This character has no apparent roots in traditional Slavic mythology and customs, having made its first appearance in Russian folklore in the 19th century. Since the mid-20th century under the

Soviet period The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

, Snegurochka has also been depicted as the granddaughter and helper of

Ded Moroz Ded Moroz (russian: Дед Мороз, ; Russian diminutive: russian: Дедушка Мороз, Dedushka Moroz, label=none; sk, Dedo Mráz; pl, Dziadek Mróz) or Morozko (russian: Морозко) is a legendary figure similar to Saint Nicho ...

during

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

parties for children.

Classification

Tales of the Snegurochka type are Aarne–Thompson type 703* The Snow Maiden. The Snegurochka story compares to tales of type 1362, The Snow-child, where the strange origin is a blatant lie. D. L. Ashliman,
The Snow Child: folktales of type 1362
'

Folk tale versions and adaptations

A version of a folk tale about a girl made of snow and named Snegurka (Snezhevinochka; Снегурка (Снежевиночка)) was published in 1869 by

Alexander Afanasyev Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (Afanasief, Afanasiev or Afanas'ev, russian: link=no, Александр Николаевич Афанасьев) ( — ) was a Russian Slavist and ethnographer who published nearly 600 Russian fairy and folk ta ...

in the second volume of his work ''The Poetic Outlook on Nature by the Slavs'', where he also mentions the German analog, ''Schneekind'' ("Snow Child"). In this version, childless Russian peasants Ivan and Marya made a snow doll, which came to life. This version was later included by Louis Léger in ''Contes Populaires Slaves'' (1882).Andrew Lang, ''

The Pink Fairy Book ''The Langs' Fairy Books'' are a series of 25 collections of true and fictional stories for children published between 1889 and 1913 by Andrew Lang and his wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne. The best known books of the series are the 12 collections ...

'',
Snowflake
Snegurka grows up quickly. A group of girls invite her for a walk in the woods, after which they make a small fire and take turns leaping over it; in some variants, this is on St. John's Day, and a St. John's Day tradition. When Snegurka's turn comes, she starts to jump, but only gets halfway before evaporating into a small cloud.

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University o ...

included this version as "Snowflake" in ''

'' (1897). In another story, she is the daughter of Spring the Beauty (Весна-Красна) and

, and yearns for the companionship of mortal humans. She grows to like a shepherd named Lel, but her heart is unable to know love. Her mother takes pity and gives her this ability, but as soon as she falls in love, her heart warms and she melts. This version of the story was made into a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

The Snow Maiden ''The Snow Maiden'' (subtitle: A Spring Fairy Tale) ( rus, Снегурочка–весенняя сказка, Snegúrochka–vesénnyaya skázka, italic=yes ) is an opera in four acts with a prologue by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composed ...

'' by

Aleksandr Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Остро́вский; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 original ...

, with incidental music by

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

in 1873. In 1878, the composer

Ludwig Minkus Ludwig Minkus (russian: link=no, Людвиг Минкус), also known as Léon Fyodorovich Minkus (23 March 1826, Vienna – 7 December 1917, Vienna), was a Jewish-Austrian composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher. Minkus is no ...

and the Balletmaster Marius Petipa staged a ballet adaptation of ''Snegurochka'' titled '' The Daughter of the Snows'' for the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Imperial Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...

. The tale was also adapted into an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov titled '' The Snow Maiden: A Spring Fairy Tale'' (1880–81). The story of Snegurochka was adapted into two Soviet films: an animated film in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

with some of Rimsky-Korsakov's music, also called ''

'', and the live-action film ''

'' (1968) directed by Pavel Kadochnikov, with music by Vladislav Kladnitsky. Ruth Sanderson retold the story in the picture book ''The Snow Princess'', in which falling in love does not immediately kill the princess, but turns her into a mortal human, who will die. In February 2012, the Slovenian poet Svetlana Makarovič published a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

fairy tale, titled ''Sneguročka'' ("Snegurochka"), which was inspired by the Russian fairy tale character. Makarovič has had great passion for Russian tradition since childhood. Artist and author

Jonathon Keats Jonathon Keats (born October 2, 1971) is an American conceptual artist and experimental philosopher known for creating large-scale thought experiments. Keats was born in New York City and studied philosophy at Amherst College. He now lives ...

's short story "Ardour" is a modern adaptation of this fairy tale, featured in Kate Bernheimer's 2010 anthology of contemporary tales based on classic archetypes, '' My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me''.

Granddaughter of Ded Moroz

In the late

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

Snegurochka was part of Christmas celebrations, in the form of figurines to decorate the fir tree and as a character in children's pieces. In the early Soviet Union, the holiday of Christmas was banned, together with other Christian traditions, until it was reinstated as a holiday of the Russian Federation in 1991. However, in 1935 the celebration of the

was allowed, which included, in part, the fir tree and

. At this time Snegurochka acquired a role of the granddaughter of Ded Moroz and his helper. In this role, she wears long silver-blue robes and a furry cap or a snowflake-like crown. She is a unique attribute of Ded Moroz, since similar characters in other cultures do not have a female companion with non-obvious blood relations, although, she can obviously be a daughter of the "resurrected" original Snegurochka of Ostrovsky's play, theoretically. However, Snegurochka of Christmas celebrations can be the same character as Snegurochca of play who's called by his father "granddaughter" because he's much older than her, a similar pattern was in folk tales with Snegurochka being a creation of an elderly couple. During the usual scripts of Christmas celebrations, Snegurochka's appearance is usually accompanied by the audience waiting for her and screaming "Sne-gu-roch-ka".

References

External links

''Snowflake''
Lang's version {{Snegurochka Christmas characters Fairy tale stock characters Female characters in fairy tales Fictional Russian people Holiday characters Russian folklore characters Slavic legendary creatures Christmas gift-bringers ATU 700-749

Classification

Folk tale versions and adaptations

Granddaughter of Ded Moroz

See also

References

External links