LSSU celebrates annual Snowman Burning

Brendan Wiesner, Sault Ste. Marie News
·2 min read
The burning snowman lasted for several minutes before being extinguished by the Chippewa County Fire Department during the annual Snowman Burning at LSSU on March, 21, 2024.
The burning snowman lasted for several minutes before being extinguished by the Chippewa County Fire Department during the annual Snowman Burning at LSSU on March, 21, 2024.

SAULT STE. MARIE — The last remnants of negative feelings from the winter were burnt to ashes alongside a giant snowman at Lake Superior State University on Thursday.

The annual Snowman Burning first began at LSSU in March 1971 as a way to bid goodbye to winter and welcome spring. The tradition is borrowed from the Rose Sunday Festival of Weinheim-an-der-Bergstrasse in Germany, where, if the children of the town were well behaved, an effigy burning would usher in the beginning of spring.

More: LSSU's Burning Snowman marks beginning of spring

The LSSU student poetry group recites poems about spring to the crowd during the annual Snowman Burning at LSSU on March, 21, 2024.
The LSSU student poetry group recites poems about spring to the crowd during the annual Snowman Burning at LSSU on March, 21, 2024.

This year marks the 52nd year of the celebration at LSSU. Over the years, it has become a favorite of students and staff. At different points in its history, it became so popular that attempts to end the festival were met with massive outcry.

“Nothing says springtime in Sault Ste. Marie better than a scorched snowman,” said Michael Beazley, LSSU Dean of Student Affairs. “We are blazing a path ahead toward the promise of spring and a moment of significant change in June with LSSU’s new president.”

More: LSSU names David Travis as next president

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LSSU hockey players address the crowd during the annual Snowman Burning on March 21, 2024.
LSSU hockey players address the crowd during the annual Snowman Burning on March 21, 2024.

Throughout the year, recycled materials are collected from the college and put together to build the wire frame and paper scraps that make up the snowman.

For the past few years, students have also been following a tradition of burning away negativity by writing their negative feelings on paper and then attaching them to the snowman. When the snowman is lit on fire, the notes are also symbolically burned away.

The giant paper snowman is set alight by a participating LSSU hockey player during the annual Snowman Burning on March 21, 2024.
The giant paper snowman is set alight by a participating LSSU hockey player during the annual Snowman Burning on March 21, 2024.

This year's theme was “Flames of Renewal, Blazing a Path to Spring,” and is meant to resonate with the collective spirit of transformation and optimism within the community.

The event was delayed by two days this week due to unpredictable winds sweeping through the area.

The crowd was filled not only with LSSU students and faculty, but also members of the local community wishing to celebrate the new season.

— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: LSSU celebrates annual Snowman Burning