[Mo Jia, special correspondent of the Global Times in Russia] Russia, a major country in ice and snow sports, has consistently performed well at the Winter Olympics. In Russia, which is located in the high latitude region, people have invented a large number of ice and snow entertainment methods to survive the cold and long winter.
Building snowmen originated from polytheism
Snowman building is popular in many countries in winter. According to Russian historians, the original snowmen appeared in ancient ritual sacrifices and were one of the idols of the Russian national polytheism at that time. The original snowman was simple in shape, a pillar that went straight up and down, and then divided into heads, faces, and bodies. Over time, three snowballs became the classic shape of Russian snowmen, three snowballs from top to bottom, from small to large, used to make the head, torso and lower body. The snowman's equipment is also getting richer. The snowman has a carrot on his face to express his hope for a good harvest in the coming year; the snowman has a bucket on his head to pray for abundance and abundance to the supernatural power, the snowman usually has a broom in his hand, symbolizing the drive away the evil forces, and in some places the people will wear a necklace made of garlic on the snowman, hoping that the snowman will protect the health of the family, because garlic is a symbol of health.
Do you have any wishes that you can whisper to the snowman, because when the snowman melts, he will go to heaven with his wish and tell it to the angels, so that the angels can realize it.
It is said that in the beginning, the snowmen of the whole world were male figures, and only the Russian snowmen were female figures. Because the ancient Russians believed that the god in charge of winter was a harsh and cold woman who lived behind thick clouds, the snowman piling up female figures on the earth symbolized her idolatry. People hope that this fierce and ruthless winter god will see that human beings worship so religiously, soften their hearts, and make winter less harsh and unbearable.
According to Russian historical records, Peter the Great was fond of building snowmen, not only building them himself, but also ordering the nobles to participate. When the first heavy snow fell in St. Petersburg, the entire palace was filled with a festive atmosphere, and the palace snowman building competition was in full swing. Peter the Great was very keen to compete, and thought that those who did not know how to enjoy the fun of building snowmen were inherently boring and difficult to take on heavy responsibilities. Peter the Great usually won the court snowman contest – his snowman won with tallness and might. With Peter the Great in practice, it became a tradition for Russia to hold snowman-building competitions in winter. Now, all over Russia, there are various snowman-building competitions, and the participants make full use of their imaginations to build snowmen in different forms and styles, becoming a local winter landscape. Snowmen also have long ceased to have religious significance, and building snowmen has become a mass entertainment activity for ordinary people in winter.
The world's earliest paper image of a snowman appears in an illustrated manuscript from 1380 in the collection of the Library at The Hague in the Netherlands. Below the yeti is a burning flame, next to which it reads: Jesus was crucified. There is also a theory that the world's first snowman was carved by the famous Italian sculptor Michelangelo in 1493, but written records about the snowman did not appear until the 18th century, when the snowman became a popular image in The New Year's postcards and a character in various fairy tales.
Ice Castle Offensive and Defensive Battles
The construction of snow castles in winter is also very common in Russia. Unlike the domestic ice and snow world, Russia's ice castles are used to show the fighting spirit of the fighting people. Ice castles are usually of comparable size, with walls, watchtowers, and moats. The game officially begins after the castle is built. The people who participate in the game are divided into two teams, one team defending the city and the other attacking the city. Siege and defending sides are divided by gender, generally speaking, girls defend the city, boys attack the city, and the siege side is divided into two roles: warhorses and knights (of course, war horses are also played by young men). The defenders put up a flag at the head of the city, and everything they can get at their fingertips - buckets, brooms, snowballs - for defense, the knight rides the "war horse" to attack, and if the knight accidentally or is attacked and falls off the horse, he is directly out. The attacker's task is to break through the castle and pull out the flag. The war dividend is very tempting, and the knight who storms the castle and pulls out his flag has the right to kiss all the girls who are defending the city. Of course, this goal is not easy to achieve, the girls' defense is amazingly tenacious, it is said that there are few lucky people who can successfully enjoy the dividends of the ice castle attack and defense war.
In addition, the pole climbing competition is also very eye-catching. Erect a tall pole in the snow with loot, a pair of boots, a hat or a beautiful piece of cloth hanging from the top of the pole. Repeatedly watering the pole, freezing into a thick, hard and tall popsicle in the cold outside, to climb to the top of the high pole to get a gift, not only requires extremely flexible hands, but more importantly, great courage and perseverance. The winning boy will become the hero of the girls.
The magic of ice hockey
Archaeologists claim that the world's oldest ice knife was excavated in Russia's Pskov region, which is more than 4,000 years old. At that time, people tied the tibia of horses directly to their shoes with ropes and used them as ice knives. It was not until the time of Peter I that the ice knives were fitted with iron slides. At that time, people were keen on a game — participants put on skates, held wooden clubs similar to hockey clubs, and chased round balls made of wood on the ice — which was the prototype of modern ice hockey. Of course, there are also experts who believe that the prototype of modern ice hockey appeared in Canada. Ice hockey is considered one of the most masculine sports. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also very enthusiastic about the campaign. In 2011, at Putin's initiative, Russia established the Night Hockey League, called the "Night Team" because many of the people who participate in the league are senior government officials who can only play outside of work, only at night. On May 10, 2021, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the night hockey league, Putin personally came off the field. The tournament was held in Sochi, where Putin, Russian Defense Minister Shoigu, Moscow Region Governor Vorobiyov, famous Russian musician Butman and ice hockey superstars came together. According to reports, President Putin alone scored 8 points, which contributed to the team's final victory over the opponent 13:9.