Jack Frost

19th-century cartoon of Jack Frost as a United States major-general during the American Civil War.

In English folklore, Jack Frost appears as an elfish creature who personifies crisp, cold, winter weather; a variant of Father Winter (also known as "Old Man Winter"). Some believe this representation originated in Germanic folklore specifically in the Anglo-Saxon and Norse winter customs^[1][2][3][4].

Tradition holds Jack Frost responsible for leaving frosty crystal patterns on windows on cold mornings (window frost or fern frost).

Possible sources and parallels

Proponents of Jack Frost's Germanic folklore roots state that the English language derives the name "Jack Frost" from the Norse character names, Jokul ("icicle") and Frosti ("frost") and also from the Anglo-Saxon character of King Frost^[1][2][3][4]. Others^[who?] see "Jack Frost" as a much more recent import into Anglo-Saxon culture from a Russian fairy tale (see Morozko). In the Finnish epic Kalevala (canto number 30, as translated from Finnish into English by Keith Bosley) Jack Frost appears as the son of Blast, "Pakkanen Puhurin Poika".^[5] Other tales in Russia represent frost as Father Frost, a smith who binds water and earth together with heavy chains. Compare the German folklore figure, the old woman Frau Holle, who causes snow by shaking white feathers out of her bed.

In fiction

Printed works

• Cecily Pike wrote a children's nursery-song describing Jack Frost as a "gay little sprite" and beginning with the words "Look out! Look out! Jack Frost is about! He's after your fingers and toes!"
• In L. Frank Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, Jack Frost is the son of the otherwise unnamed Frost King. He takes pleasure in nipping "scores of noses and ears and toes," but Santa Claus, who likes Jack (who he sees as a "jolly rogue") though he mistrusts him, asks him to spare the children. Jack says he will, if he can resist the temptation.^[6] The same Jack appears in The Runaway Shadows, a short story by Baum. In this story, he has the power to freeze shadows, separating them from their owners, making them their own living entities.^[7]
• Laurell K. Hamilton's Meredith Gentry series has a character who within the context of the book emerges as the original Jack Frost.
• Jack Frost appears as a superhero in works published by Timely Comics (now^[update] Marvel Comics) in the 1940s. A man covered in ice, he could project ice and cold.
• Jack Frost forms the alter-ego of Dane McGowan in the comic book series The Invisibles, written by Grant Morrison.
• Jack Frost appears in "First Death in Nova Scotia", poem by E. Bishop
• Jack Frost appears as a minor character in the books Reaper Man and Hogfather by Terry Pratchett.
• Jack Frost appears as a major character in Ed McCray's novel Jill Chill and the Baron of Glacier Mountain [1]
• Jack Frost appears as a major character in The Veil trilogy of novels by Christopher Golden.
• Jack Frost appears as a mischievous character in a few panels of National Comics' Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #33 (December, 1958).
• In Jack of Fables the titular character became Jack Frost for a period of time. A second Jack Frost appears as the son of Jack Horner and The Snow Queen.
• Jack Frost appears as an antagonist in Rainbow Magic books by Daisy Meadows, wanting to freeze Fairyland. He also has loads of pesky goblins to steal the fairies.
• Jack Frost (잭 프로스트) is an ongoing manga Style manwha series by Jinho Ko.
• Jack Frost appears in the book "Lord of the silver hand" by Gerald Killingworth

Films

• Jack Frost, a Russian film from 1964, has the Russian title Morozko — the Russian equivalent of Jack Frost. Mystery Science Theater 3000, episode #813, riffed it mercilessly.
• The character of Jack Frost appears in three United States films, two of them named simply Jack Frost:
  • In one Jack Frost, a serial killer turns into a snowman and continues his rampage. This movie spawned a sequel: Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman, also starring this version of Jack Frost.
  • In the other Jack Frost film, Michael Keaton plays a human by the name of Jack Frost, who gets killed in a car-crash on Christmas Eve. A year later he returns as a snowman to spend time with his son and make up for all the times his band forced him to miss out on events in his son's life.
• Jack Frost appears as the title character in a 1934 release of Ub Iwerks's ComiColor Cartoons.
• Martin Short plays "Jack Frost" in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.

Televised material

• In Frosty's Winter Wonderland, Jack Frost, jealous of Frosty the Snowman because of all the attention he gets from children, tries to render him lifeless by stealing his magic hat, but eventually has a change of heart when chosen as the best man at Frosty and Crystal's wedding. He reappears in Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July.
• In Jack Frost, a Rankin-Bass Christmas TV special (1979), Jack Frost falls in love with a human girl and seeks to become human. Father Winter grants his wish, but tells him that if he does not have a house, a horse, a bag of gold, and a wife by "the first sign of spring" he will become a sprite again.

In pop culture

• Jack Frost appears as an evil ice general in the computer role-playing game AdventureQuest.
• Doom metal band Saint Vitus have a song called "Jack Frost"
• The progressive rock band Jethro Tull have a Christmas song called Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow
• Jack Frost functions as a trademark character for the Japanese game-developer Atlus and as a mascot of the Megami Tensei video-game series. His other variations include Black Frost, King Frost, Raiho (Devil Summoner version of Jack Frost), and Pyro Jack. Depicted as a stereotypical snowman, he frequently uses his trademark "Hee-ho!" in his speech.
• Jack Frost appears in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause played by Martin Short. This character, jealous of the attention Santa Claus (Tim Allen) receives, wants to assume the position of Santa Claus.
• Jack Frost appears as a snowman in the MMORPG Granado Espada.
• Jack Frost features in a number of video games (including City of Villains and Guild Wars) as a player-summonable creature.
• The radio station WRHS-FM 89.7 in Norridge, Illinois brands its holiday music format as "Jack Frost".
• Jack Frost was featured as the main villain in the 2008 Christmas event of the MMORPG RuneScape as the 'surly teenager' son of Santa Claus and The Queen of Snow, being half-human and half-ice sprite.
• Jack Frost is the code name of the main character in Grant Morrisson's comic book series "The Invisibles".

As a pseudonym

• Bob Dylan used the name "Jack Frost" as a pseudonym when he produced his 2001 record Love and Theft, as well as his 2006 record Modern Times, and his 2009 records Together Through Life and Christmas in the Heart.
• Jack Rosenberg (later known as "Werner Erhard") used the nickname "Jack Frost", while selling cars in Philadelphia in the 1950s^[8]
• Jack Dempsey, the guitarist of the Seven Witches, goes by the pseudonym of "Jack Frost". Apart from his work in Seven Witches he has also released two solo albums, many famous (heavy) metal artists joining him.

See also

• Father Frost, a Russian skazka

References

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