The Snow Maiden is a Slavic fairytale I’ve always loved, despite its happy/sad ending. And it’s not to be confused with Hans Christian Andersen’s Danish short story The Ice-Maiden–that’s a tragedy on a whole other level. I’m not sure why so many winter-based fairytales are sad, but I suspect it has to do with the overall feeling of gloom and doom that comes with the lack of sun.

Anyway, this story is not as well known, maybe because it takes place in Russia and dates back to the 19th century and never made it into the canon of Western European fairytales. The reason I’m writing about it is because I just watched a movie on Netflix called The Snow Sister. While it’s a different twist on this story, it gives the same vibes and there are a number of clues thrown to viewers familiar with this less-well-known fairytale. (This post isn’t about the movie, but if you don’t mind subtitles it’s definitely worth watching–with lots of tissues.)
This story is about Ded Moroz (roughly translated to Grandfather Frost or Old Man Frost, a mythic Slavic character similar to Father Christmas who brings small gifts to children and New Year’s Eve) and his companion Snegurochka, translated to Snow Maiden. Some stories say she is the daughter of Ded Moroz and the Snow Queen, and others say she is his granddaughter. But the most popular story says she is a snow sculpture that Ded Moroz brought to life, similar to Frosty the Snowman. (Or, for my romance readers, the movie Hot Frosty!) In the early versions of the Snow Maiden story, she lived in the Russian city of Kostroma. But it seems that sometime during the 20th century she moved to Veliky Ustyug, Russia.
Ded Moroz and the Snow Maiden travel together in early January, and some stories have them disappearing on Twelfth Night (Jan. 6) while in others they hang around until the Vernal Equinox. While Ded Moroz is Slavic, the Snow Maiden is from Russia. There are older stories from the 17th and 18th centuries about Ded Moroz that don’t include the Snow Maiden (although she did appear on Russian Christmas tree ornaments), but his fame didn’t take off until she appeared in the stories. Maybe because he was often depicted as a judge of good and bad behavior while she was a gentler character who loved children and stood in their defense when it was time to hand out the gifts. She is almost always depicted as having bright blue eyes, red lips, snow white skin (sound familiar?) and blonde hair that is either braided or hangs around her shoulders in long curls. The original images show her dressed all in white with a crown decorated with silver and pearls. But now she is always seen wearing a blue and white cloak (sometimes with red trim) and she either wears her crown or a white fur-trimmed hat.

Now on to the actual story. It takes place in a Russian forest during the darkest days of winter, in early December. An elderly, childless couple lived in a small cabin where they worked hard for their survival yet were kind to their neighbors. But as they got older, they became lonely in their cold cabin and afraid because there was no one to care for them. But one day, after a terrible snowstorm, they went out to gather firewood. While they searched, they began to reminisce about their youth and how they loved to play in the snow and build snowmen and other snow figures. After they collected their wood, they went back outside and built a snow girl that had blue beads for eyes, a red ribbon for her mouth, and deep dimples on either side of her smile.
When they were done, the old man called the snow sculpture, “Our daughter, Snegurochka.”
This made his wife cry and then, suddenly a burst of static electricity ran through the snow and the air. They knew the power they felt meant that Father Frost was nearby. But when the sound stopped, they went back inside to get warm. What they didn’t realize was that Father Frost had watched them build the beautiful snow girl and felt sorry for them. Using his magic staff, he sent a burst of electrical magic through the cold air, toward the snow girl.
When dusk began to fall, the couple went back outside to take one more look at their snow girl… the daughter they never had. But to their absolute delight, the snow girl was gone and there stood a young girl dressed in white fur with blonde hair and blue eyes.
The girl said, “If it pleases, I will be your daughter and care for you as my mother and father.”
The couple hugged her and led her to their cabin. Once there, the family lived in joy for a few weeks. The young girl helped with the chores and took wonderful care of her new parents. Yet, sometimes, a distance would appear in her eyes and she’d leave them to hide in the forest with the trees and creatures. Since her parents understood that her presence was magical, they let her go and just hoped she’d return. And she always did. When it came time for the winter holidays, Snegurochka watched people who passed by the cabin on they way into town. Because her parents wanted her to be happy, they encouraged her to go to town and join in the celebrations and parties.

Snegurochka spent many hours in town, with the townspeople who welcomed her, and watched the joy of everyone who was enjoying the festivities. Townspeople offered her food and drink and asked her to dance. While she always took what was offered, she rarely danced, preferring to watch others. One day, a young man who played the flute in the dance band noticed the beautiful, lonely young woman. He fell in love immediately, talked to her, and over a few days they became inseparable–except for the times when she wandered the forest alone.
One day, her grandfather Ded Moroz (Father Frost) appeared before her in the forest. He warned her that Spring was coming and she might not want to make too many deep relationships. But Snegurochka was so happy with her young man, her parents, and all the friends she’d made in town, she shrugged off his warnings.
Father Frost had no option other than to watch her run back to town to see her young man and her new friends.
A few months later, Spring came again. As Snegurochka left her parents’ cabin to meet her young man at the edge of the forest, she heard him playing his flute and ran toward him. The music was so lovely, it made her cry. They were both so happy to see each other that they ran into each others’ arms. Except she forgot about Father Frost’s warning. The moment she left the forest’s shade, her feet melted. Then, a few moments, later she vanished into a puddle of water. The young man was devastated and went to tell her parents. The elderly couple was heartbroken, but they also understood how the magic worked. They’d always known their snow daughter wouldn’t be able to stay with them forever.
But Father Frost was watching. The moment the Snow Maiden melted, he caught the ice wind that rose up as she disappeared and sent it to the northern lands where she regained her human body. Now, the legends say that Snegurochka and Father Frost spend three season in the northern lands, but when the cold winds blow south, they return to the cabin to visit her parents… and all of her friends. Then they bring happiness and presents to the good children of the town on New Year’s Eve.