Father Witer
The image and an idea of Father Winter, Father Frost or Old Man Winter goes back so many centuries. The folktales of him exist in many cultures and appear in storytelling from different eras.
Stories from Greek Mythology has always been my favorite since I was ten. There was the God of Cold North Wind named Boreas. He was one of the four seasonal gods, a short tempered old man you wouldn’t want to anger ))) Depending on the source, he takes various appearances - in some stories he has horse legs, in others he has snake legs, but almost all describe him with large wings, long haired and icy bearded.
In 482 BCE when Persia came to invade Greece for the second time it is believed that the Greeks prayed to Boreas to show up to save them and he did. With his deadly icy breath he blew on Persian ships and destroyed over 400 of them. It’s known now as the battle of Salamis.
In Roman mythology he is known as Aquilo and he was one of the twelve winds.
During the Roman Empire In 343 there was a Greek Bishop of Myra (modern day Turkey) named Nicholas. Very little known about him as a historical figure, he was known as a patron of children in a village where people had hard time feeding their kids. One source mentions he would secretly leave coins in windows at night in order to help families to afford to keep and feed their children and not sell them for labor. Only after many years of his death he was proclaimed to the status of a Saint for all his good deeds. And even more centuries after, he became the face of the well known legend of Saint Nicholas, Sinterklaas or as we know it today “Santa”.
During Russian Empire he was known as Дедушка Николай ( grandpa Nikolai), Мороз Иванович ( Frost Ivanovich) or just as Мороз (Frost) and he was a combination of pre-Christian Slavic folklore and borrowed legends of Sant Nicholas so well known in Europe. Frost was known to freeze villages overnight, but if you were to be a “good-mannered” child - Frost might spare your village, and if you were to be a mischievous brat - Frost could come and kidnap you at night. Later versions influenced by Orthodox Church softened his image and Frost now came to bring gifts instead of stealing kids.
After the Russian Revolution the new Soviet government made adjustments to the character of Frost or Grandpa Nikolai and now in 1930 he appeared as a non-religious holiday figure named Дед Мороз (Grandpa Frost). He continued to visit soviet children at night and bring them presents, only not at Christmas, but on New Year.
Like many soviet children, I grew up celebrating New Year with Grandpa Frost and even now being an adult and learning so much about the history of this character, I still secretly make a wish in hopes that it will come true.
So may Father Winter visit your house this New Year’s Eve and make a wish!
