Frosty the Snowman

Frosty the Snowman is a jolly, happy soul with a button nose and two eyes made of coal. He's a symbol for the joy and freedom only felt during the Christmas season. The legend of Frosty became popular with the hit 1950's song “Frosty the Snowman” recorded by Gene Autry and written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson. The song is the original resource for learning about Frosty, but the legend of Frosty has been passed around for quite a while before surfacing in 1950.

When Did Frosty Come to Life?

For a long time, Frosty's age was a real challenge to pin down. Given that the song came out in 1950, Frosty the Snowman must be older than that. But what clues can be found in the song? The song mentions a grouchy traffic cop shouting at Frosty and the kids who built him. Traffic cops were especially common when the car was a newer invention and traffic flows were easier, so you can narrow down the most likely years to somewhere around the earlier part of the 20th century. Traffic guards and their famous stop/slow paddles became very popular in the 1920s, so the story of Frosty most likely occurred in the late 1920s or early 1930s. It's a start, but it's not very specific and doesn't tell us exactly how old he is.

But even if the song doesn't have any more hints, that isn't the only resource available to researchers. In 1969, Rankin/Bass Productions released a famous animated movie about Frosty the Snowman. Where the song was quite mysterious when it came to details about Frosty, the movie shed light on many facts about of Frosty’s origin. It provides us the date and location of Frosty's birthday, if not the year. Frosty's story takes place in New York state, on Christmas Eve.

There are clues about the year, too. The kids are all quite sad at the start of the movie, even with Christmas right around the corner. On top of that, the movie features a magician who is unusually desperate for money. This desperation turns him into the villain of Frosty's story. Later on, it turns out he can be kind, too, and all he truly wanted was a Christmas present. So why was he so desperate for money? Because the movie took place early in the Great Depression. In case you don’t know, the Great Depression was the poorest period in American history, so many families struggled to be able to afford Christmas gifts or even put food on the table.

All of these clues narrow things down to Christmas Eve of 1929 as Frosty’s birthday. That date had the perfect weather for the kids of New York to enjoy playing in the snow and building a snowman. At first, that is. Before long, the weather began to warm up and it reached snow-melting temperatures quickly, which perfectly matches the events of the Rankin/Bass special.

How Old is Frosty the Snowman?

With all these questions answered, the mystery of Frosty's age is cleared up. Frosty must have been born on December 24th, 1929, which means that Frosty is a 89 years old and will celebrate his 90^th birthday this year.

How Does Frosty Celebrate His Birthday?

Frosty loves to travel and always makes sure to return to his home town of Armonk, New York. When the weather is right, Frosty visits Armonk for his birthday and spends the wintertime there. Armonk holds a festival in Frosty's name every December, and naturally, Frosty visits for it, too. He can usually be found hiding in the shade, trying to pass as a regular snowman. However, he's easily recognizable as none of the other snowmen will be dancing. To catch Frosty's 90th birthday, Armonk is the place to be on Christmas Eve, 2019.