The Complete History of Grandfather Frost (Ded Moroz)

Grandfather Frost has withstood church criticism, Russian Revolution, and Soviet Era bans but remained the most popular holiday figure in Russia, Balkan countries, and former Soviet Republics.

However, his image and personality were forced to adapt to the changing times, and modern Grandfather Frost has little in common with his origin – but so does Santa with Saint Nicholas.

Nowadays, Grandfather Frost is a controversial figure in many countries wishing to get rid of Soviet heritage, but kids write him letters and anticipate gifts from good old Morozko regardless.

How Is Grandfather Frost Different From Santa?

At first sight, Grandfather Frost and Santa Claus may seem the same, but they are two entirely different figures.

The only similarities between these characters are the long white beard and responsibility to hand out gifts to children at Christmas.

Grandfather Frost is taller than Santa and doesn’t have plump cheeks. He wears a traditional Russian coat with intricate ornaments and a tall, richly embellished hat. His attire is usually blue, but some sources portray him in red or white.

Grandfather Frost doesn’t ride a flying sleigh drawn by eight reindeer – he rides a sleigh pulled by three horses, called “troika” from the Russian word for “three,” through snowy forests.

Grandfather Frost also has a long magic stick made from ice.

Unlike Santa Claus, Grandfather Frost doesn’t have elf helpers. However, he has a kind granddaughter, Snegurochka or Snow Maiden. Meanwhile, Santa has a wife, but nobody has heard of his kids or grandchildren.

Snegurochka also wears a long ornate coat with white fur trimming, an intricately detailed kokoshnik (traditional Russian headdress), and white fur mittens.

Grandfather Frost leaves gifts under the Christmas tree rather than in socks, and he never goes down the chimney but comes through the front door.

However, the primary difference between Santa Claus and Grandfather Frost is their origins. Grandfather Frost has no relation to Saint Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop from Myra who served as a prototype for Santa.

Where Does Grandfather Frost Live?

Since Grandfather Frost brings gifts to children from Russia, Latvia, Ukraine, and other countries of the former Soviet Union, the way from the North Pole would be a bit long. Furthermore, his sleigh can’t fly, so how would he cross the sea?

For this reason, Grandfather Frost has a residence in Russia’s north, Vologda region, in Velikiy Ustyug. Like Santa Claus’ home in Rovaniemi, Grandfather Frost’s residence welcomes visitors year-round and offers numerous attractions for every preference.

Grandfather Frost has a spectacular throne hall, museum, workshop, zoo, souvenir store, and a post office where kids can send a letter with their Christmas wishes.

At Christmas time, children can participate in competitions and games, watch performances, and meet fairytale characters.

Since tourism in Russia’s north isn’t particularly developed, Grandfather Frost’s village in Velikiy Ustyug also has a hotel, restaurant, and other necessities.

Grandfather Frost’s house in Velikiy Ustyug is built in traditional Slavic style, featuring wooden shutters on windows with ornate cut-outs and signs written in a medieval Cyrillic font. He lives there with his granddaughter Snow Maiden.

However, Grandfather Frost has more than one residence. Children can also meet him in Kuzminki, located in the Moscow region, Toksovo in the Leningrad region, Chalna in the Republic of Karelia, and Sharkan in the Republic of Udmurtia.

The Origins of Grandfather Frost

A common misconception is that Grandfather Frost is a Soviet-era character. The truth is that Ded Moroz has a significantly longer history, stemming from Slavic mythology.

Tracking the first mention of Grandfather Frost is practically impossible because spoken stories about him were passed on from generation to generation even before literacy became widespread.

Historically, Grandfather Frost was called Zimnik or the Winter Man. In later legends and songs, he came under the name Morozko, translating as Frost.

Grandfather Frost’s personality wasn’t as merry and kind back in the day. Initially, Grandfather Frost was a wizard of winter or a snow demon, but before Christianity, the term demon had no negative connotations in Slavic territories.

He could freeze people to death for not behaving well and wipe off entire villages. Considering how harsh winters can be in Russia, such a fearsome image isn’t surprising. In the north, temperatures can fall below -58 degrees Fahrenheit.

Over time, under Christian influence, Grandfather Frost’s image morphed into a strict yet fair man who punished bad people but rewarded the good ones.

Only by the 19th century did Grandfather Frost become a popular Christmas gift-bringer.

Morozko – the Fairytale

The fairytale Morozko, written by Alexander Afanasyev in the 1850s, had a significant influence on the perception of Grandfather Frost.

The fairytale narrates about a woman who had a daughter of her own and a stepdaughter whom she hated.

The woman would view her stepdaughter as a maid, making her do house chores all day long. Once, the woman ordered her husband to take the stepdaughter into the winter woods and leave her there to freeze.

Despite loving his daughter, the husband obeyed and left her to sit in the snow, suffering from biting cold. After some time, Grandfather Frost found her, shivering and chattering her teeth, blueish from cold.

He asked the girl, “Are you warm, my dear?”. She responded, “Welcome, dear Morozko. Yes, I am warm.” Morozko knew the girl lied but appreciated her stoicism and decided to help her.

He gave the girl a warm fur coat before leaving, only to come back after some time and ask once again, “Are you warm, my dear?”. The girl yet again replied that she was warm, and Morozko gave her a chest to sit on.

When Grandfather Frost returned the third time, the girl again firmly replied that she was warm, and he gave her enough silver and gold jewelry to fill the chest she was sitting on.

Meanwhile, the girl’s stepmother realized there was no one left to do the chores and ordered her husband to bring her stepdaughter back. He obliged, and when the girl arrived home with a chest of jewels, her stepmother was furious.

She ordered her husband to bring her real daughter to the same spot and leave her there, expecting her to come back home with silver and gold.

However, when Morozko found her shivering in the woods and asked, “Are you warm, my dear?” she replied, “Are you blind? Can’t you see that my hands and feet are quite numb? Curse you, you miserable old man!”.

Grandfather Frost froze the girl to death for her rudeness. The old woman’s stepdaughter later married a good man, had children, and would always remind them to respect the good old Morozko.

Grandfather Frost in Soviet Era

With the arrival of the Russian Revolution, Christmas in Russia was forbidden.

Soviet authorities actively punished people for visiting the church or participating in any religious traditions. Although Grandfather Frost had pagan roots, he was also banned by the government.

Soviet newspapers published propagandist caricatures, trying to portray Grandfather Frost as a negative character.

However, the efforts had no success, and Grandfather Frost quickly became the main symbol of New Year’s celebrations that replaced Christmas in spite of the bans.

Grandfather Frost smiled from New Year’s cards, children’s books, and Christmas tree ornaments. Over time, the authorities stopped fighting the Christmas spirit – they had more important problems after World War ll.

Grandfather Frost Nowadays

The Soviet Union is long gone, but Grandfather Frost remains the main gift-bringer in Russia, the former Soviet Republics, and Balkan countries.

In 1998, Moscow’s former mayor Yuriy Luzhkov declared Velikiy Ustyug the official residence of Grandfather Frost.

Throughout the 2000s, the current Russian government actively promoted Grandfather Frost, and Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Morozko’s residence in 2008.

Nowadays, actors playing Ded Moroz and Snegurochka often appear at children’s Christmas and New Year parties. Kids stand around the Christmas tree and shout, “Grandfather Frost, please come!” until he appears.

In 2014, Grandfather Frost even was a mascot candidate for the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Every Russian kid knows the fairytale Morozko and writes a letter to Grandfather Frost every year.

However, in many former Soviet Republics, Grandfather Frost loses the competition to Santa Claus and other characters.

For example, in Baltic states, about half of the population are Catholics and half Orthodox, so there’s no universal Christmas gift-giver.

Grandfather Frost Outside of Russia

Grandfather Frost’s image differs by country. After the dissolution of the USSR, many nations attempted to revive their ancient traditions to move away from Soviet heritage, but not all of them changed the Christmas gift-giver entirely.

For example, in Armenia, Grandfather Frost and his granddaughter Snow Sweetie usually wear red and expect kids to recite poems before receiving gifts.

In Croatia, Grandfather Frost is considered a communist creation and was replaced by Saint Nicholas.

In 2013, Tajikistan’s government officials said that Grandfather Frost has no relation to the country’s cultural heritage and won’t appear on national TV. Ukrainians have also tried to replace Morozko with Saint Nicholas.

In many families in the former Soviet Republics, Santa Claus brings gifts for Christmas, and Grandfather Frost brings gifts for New Year.

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