Who Is Jack Frost?

For many people, the name Jack Frost instantly brings to mind Nat King Cole’s crooning voice as he sings “Jack Frost nipping at your nose” in “The Christmas Song.” Most iterations of Jack Frost see him colored and/or clad in icy blue and white, and as well as being responsible for nose-nipping, he’s also credited with creating frost—particularly the artistic fern-like patterns on windows. But where exactly did this mythical cold-weather figure originate?

1. A Touch of Frost
2. On Thin Ice

A Touch of Frost

The earliest known mention of Jack Frost appears in Round about our Coal Fire: or Christmas Entertainments, first printed in 1730: “This Time of Year being cold and frosty generally speaking, or when Jack Frost commonly takes us by the Nose.” It’s unlikely that the author of this festive book—who goes by the pseudonym Dick Merryman—was the one to create Jack Frost, as the name seems to be a recognizable reference.

Jack Frost continued to be a personification of winter weather who was only used as a brief turn of phrase. For instance, in the October 1806 edition of The Sporting Magazine, John Mason wrote that “that scoundrel poltroon Jack Frost has so benumbed my fingers.” 

The 19th century saw Jack Frost begin to take shape as an actual character, rather than simply being a saying. An 1832 poem by Hannah Flagg Gould added to his mischievous reputation by having him freeze fruit and burst a pitcher (although he isn’t explicitly called Jack). The frosty figure was also the subject of an 1841 song, which similarly paints him as playfully naughty: “Bent on mischief—who is he? / Jack Frost—Jack Frost.” The first illustration of Jack Frost also comes from this century; in an 1861 edition of Harper’s Weekly, Thomas Nast drew him as a war general dripping with icicles, in reference to Union General Benjamin Butler calling Jack Frost “our faithful old Ally of the North.”

It wasn’t long before Jack Frost became a fully-fledged literary character. Margaret T. Canby’s short story “The Frost Fairies” (1874) tells of how the kind-hearted Jack Frost, a.k.a. King Frost, also became responsible for changing the colors of the leaves each fall. L. Frank Baum, best known for penning The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), also expanded the role of Jack Frost. In “The Runaway Shadows, or A Trick of Jack Frost” (1901), Jack is the cheeky son of the Frost King; when he’s unable to freeze children’s ears and noses—thanks to them being bundled up in furs—he decides to freeze their shadows. Baum also included the sprite in The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1902), which sees Old Saint Nick ask Jack to refrain from nipping kids’ noses (he reluctantly agrees!).

On Thin Ice

You may have heard that Jack Frost can be traced back to Norse mythology, specifically a god called Jokul Frosti, whose name translates to “Icicle Frost.” But Jokul Frosti isn’t actually a mythological figure. Kari, ruler of the wind, was said to have a son called either Jokul or Frosti, but there’s no direct link between that mythical ice deity and the Jack Frost we know today. 

Many cultures across the world have mythological counterparts to Jack Frost. The prevalence of these figures isn’t surprising given that frost patterns do often look like they have been made by a magical being (the fern design on windows is actually created by the temperature difference between warm air indoors and cold air outdoors). In ancient Greece, the god Boreas was believed to bring the cold north wind that ushered in winter. In Russia, it’s not Santa Claus who brings children presents, but wintery figure Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost). And in Japanese folklore, a dangerous spirit called Yuki Onna (Snow Woman) can be found lurking amid the snow flurries. 

There have been many different takes on the character of Jack Frost himself over the years. Often, his mischievous or downright villainous side is emphasized—the Chris Pine-voiced teenage boy from animated film Rise of the Guardians (2012) falls into the former category, while Martin Short’s character in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) falls into the latter. There are also gentler versions, such as the stop-motion sprite in the 1979 Rankin/Bass Christmas special and the artistic Jack Frost in Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather (1996).

Straying further from the traditional portrayal of the character are the two films titled Jack Frost from 1997 and 1998, both of which are about men called Jack Frost who are turned into snowmen. The 1997 movie is a horror flick about a serial killer (played by Scott MacDonald), while the 1998 film is a family-friendly story about a resurrected father (Michael Keaton). 

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