Winter is my favourite time of year; it always has been. The shorter days, cold nights and cosy cups of tea sipped snuggled up by the orange glow of the fireplace. Nothing beats it. If you also love the winter months – you might be drawn to a certain magical and enchanted figure. Jack Frost.
Jack Frost truly is the personification of everything cold. Snow, ice, sleet and everything in between. His name is well known, although many know little about him. In recent history, he has been depicted in paintings and literature with a paintbrush and bucket, which he uses to paint the leaves of trees autumnal colours: red, yellow, brown and orange. More traditionally, he is better known for leaving frosty, fern-like patterns across windows on cold winter mornings. Parallel to this, he is sometimes said to be the chill that nips at your extremities when you venture outside during winter.
The exact origin of Jack Frost is unknown, which to me adds to his mystery. However, he may be derived from Anglo-Saxon and Norse winter customs – who know him by a variety of names such as “Old Man Winter”. One popular story is that he is the son of Kari, the Norse god of Wind. In Russia, he is known as “Grandfather Frost” and many other countries such as Japan know him by different names altogether. Why is he known as “Jack” in the UK? Well, the most likely answer is that Jack was a common slang word for man during the 16th and 17th centuries. It is intriguing that, over the years, nations all over the world have felt the need to personify the winter and humanise the ice and snow that falls around them.
Since the 19th century, Jack Frost has remained a well-known figure in popular culture, appearing in almost every medium of entertainment you can imagine. Some interpretations have depicted him as an old and grumpy man, others as a young and sprightly boy who wishes to spread his frosty cheer. Similarly, he has been illustrated as an insufferable mischief maker, and as a hero. The way that Jack Frost’s character has been portrayed varies wildly from one work to the next, but this is unsurprising considering how winter itself is a polarising season. Some of us love it, some of us don’t. You have already had my two cents on the matter!
Personally, I see Jack Frost as a young man, almost a boy – a friendly spirit that is here to protect us during the cold and dark nights. He makes the leaves of the trees shine in the sun and leaves us kind drawings on our windows in frost. However, he does this less now that so many have double glazing – but that’s no matter! I see him as the bringer of fun and hope in the darkness, cheering us up when we need it most. In an attempt to portray this, I have written a poem about Jack Frost to convey my personal interpretation – I hope you like it:
Writing this poem was very enjoyable as it is always fun to write about the things that make you happy – in this case, winter. Within the poem, I attempted to convey Jack Frost’s good and kind nature, whilst maintaining his elusiveness. In a way, he is connected to many of the things that we relate with winter – be that the crunch of the grass, as we step on it on frosty mornings, or the clink of the ice within our glasses. These are all signs that he is there, looking out for us. For me, this is a magical thought. I encourage you to think about how you perceive the character of Jack Frost, and remember – when you next have a snowball thrown your way, that might just be him.
