One of the most popular things to do withsnow， other than to have a snowball fight， is tobuild a snowman.

除了打雪仗，其他和雪有關(guān)的最受歡迎的活動之一就是堆雪人。

The tradition has been passed on fromgeneration1 to generation， alongside tales of snowmen at Christmas.

這個傳統(tǒng)和圣誕節(jié)雪人的故事一起代代相傳。

But why do we dress a snowman in a certain way and more importantly whya carrot for a nose？

但是為什么我們要用某種方式給雪人裝扮，更重要的是為什么要用胡蘿卜當(dāng)鼻子呢？

Why a carrot for a nose？

為什么用胡蘿卜做鼻子？

Some of the earliest descriptions of snowmen date back as far as the 13th century and they show snowmen with long pointed noses.

關(guān)于雪人的一些最早的描述可以追溯到13 世紀(jì)，當(dāng)時的雪人都長著長長的尖鼻子。

They were described as fierce and cold characters， so a pointy nose was a common way of making them appear harsh.

他們被描繪成兇猛而冷酷的人物，所以尖鼻子是讓他們顯得冷酷的常見方式。

Why a carrot for a nose？

為什么用胡蘿卜做鼻子？

Some of the earliest descriptions of snowmen date back as far as the 13thcentury and" they show snowmen with long pointed noses.

關(guān)于雪人的一些最早的描述可以追溯到13世紀(jì)，當(dāng)時的雪人都長著長長的尖鼻子。

They were described as fierce and cold characters， so a pointy nose was acommon way of" making them appear harsh.

他們被描繪成兇猛而冷酷的人物，所以尖鼻子是讓他們顯得冷酷的常見方式。

Much like we associate2 witches with a hooked3 or pointed nose， it wasimportant for a snowman to carry these characteristics.

就像我們把女巫和鉤鼻或尖鼻子聯(lián)系在一起一樣，擁有這些特征對雪人來說很重要。

Other objects have been used throughout history for a snowman’s nose， thingssuch as buttons and coal but the carrot is the most iconic4 item to use.

歷史上，其他物品也曾被用來做雪人的鼻子，比如紐扣和煤炭，但胡蘿卜是最具代表性的物品。

Traditionally a snowman would have coal for eyes and a small piece of coal tomake a mouth.

傳統(tǒng)上，雪人會有煤炭做的眼睛，和小塊煤炭做的嘴巴。

Who was the first snowman with a carrot nose？

誰是第一個長著胡蘿卜鼻子的雪人？

The first known snowman character to have a carrot for a nose featured in theGerman animation ， which was created in 1943.

世界上第一個以胡蘿卜為鼻子的雪人角色出現(xiàn)在1943 年創(chuàng)作的德國動畫《雪人》中。

In English，“Der Schneemann”， is known as“The Snowman”or“Snowman inJuly”.

在英語中，“Der Schneemann”被稱為“雪人”或“七月的雪人”。

This was one of the first representations of a snowman being naive 5 and thatmade the audience love him very much.

這是雪人天真的最初描繪之一，這讓觀眾非常喜愛他。

Throughout history， snowmen were associated with harsh winters and strength，but this was when snowmen started to become adored6 cartoon characters.

縱觀歷史，雪人總是與嚴(yán)冬和力量聯(lián)系在一起，而這是雪人成為受人喜愛的卡通人物的開始。

This suggests that the tradition came from Europe and possibly morespecifically Germany， as there had not been depictions of a snowman with a carrotnose before this time.

這表明這一傳統(tǒng)來自歐洲，更確切地說可能來自德國，因為在此之前還沒有長著胡蘿卜鼻子的雪人的描述。

Characters that win the hearts of the viewers will then often be represented in theirlives， and this could have been the start of the tradition of using a carrot for a nose.

贏得觀眾喜愛的角色通常會在他們的生活中出現(xiàn)，這可能是用胡蘿卜做鼻子的傳統(tǒng)的開始。

Where do carrots come from？

胡蘿卜是從哪里來的？

Another question to help us solve this mystery is looking at where carrotsoriginate.

幫助我們解開這個謎團的另一個問題是研究胡蘿卜的起源。

The orange carrots we use on snowmen today were specially grown in the Netherlands in the 16th Century.

我們現(xiàn)在堆雪人用的橙色胡蘿卜是16 世紀(jì)荷蘭專門種植的。

The myth and legend suggest that orange carrots were specifically bred by the Dutch in honor of King William I.

神話和傳說表明，橙色胡蘿卜是荷蘭人為了紀(jì)念國王威廉一世而專門培育的。

Although there is not a large amount of evidence7 to suggest this story is true，it could have been one of the catalysts8 for growing orange carrots in Europe.

雖然沒有大量證據(jù)表明這個故事是真的，但它可能是歐洲種植橙色胡蘿卜的催化劑之一。

Thus meaning they were widely available and a common vegetable found in the home.

這意味著它們隨處可見，是家中常見的蔬菜。

This would have meant that alongside coal and a scarf， a carrot became anormal household item to use when building a snowman.

這就意味著，在堆雪人的時候，胡蘿卜和煤、圍巾一樣都是普通家庭用品。

Snowmen are an important character in creating a winter wonderland and Christmas atmosphere.

雪人是營造冬日仙境和圣誕氛圍的重要角色。

We choose to decorate9 them with our household items， and this is different depending on where you are in the world.

我們選擇用不同的家庭用品來裝飾它們，這取決于你在世界的哪個地方。

It could have been that following the release of ， people loved the character and wanted to recreate him when building their own snowman.

也許是因為《雪人》上映后，人們喜歡上了這個角色，想在自己堆雪人的時候再現(xiàn)他的形象。

The tradition of using a carrot for a nose has become a global trend thanks to characters such as Der Schneemann， Jack Frost and Olaf from Disney’s .

用胡蘿卜做鼻子的傳統(tǒng)已經(jīng)成為一個全球性的趨勢，這多虧了雪人、杰克·弗羅斯特和迪士尼電影《冰雪奇緣》中的雪寶等人物。

（英語原文選自： thefactsite.com）