General Information:
Title: Snowball Fight
Form of Folklore: Customary, snowball-fight
Language: English
Place of Origin: Hanover, NH, United States
Informant: R.A.
Date Collected: October 26th, 2021
Informant Data:
R.A. is a 21-year-old member of the Dartmouth class of 2022. She was born and raised in Armonk, NY. She is a cognitive science major, with minors in government and digital art, and she hopes to pursue graphic design after graduation. At Dartmouth, R.A. is a member of the dance group Sugarplum and works for the DALI lab. She currently lives in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Contextual Data:
– Social Context: The annual Dartmouth snowball fight was brought up by R.A. when asked to think about other fall traditions she participated in as a freshman. It is arranged by the school and open for all students and staff who want to participate, and it takes place on the Dartmouth Green. It takes place on the night of the year’s first snowfall, which typically occurs in the fall (although sometimes it takes place in the winter if it doesn’t snow during fall term) – during Rachel’s freshman year it occurred during her fall finals week. Because all students are invited, students never know how many will attend until they show up to the Green. However, as a once-a-year tradition, a lot of students value attending.
– Cultural Context: Dartmouth highly values traditions, and even the administrative organization takes steps to organize and execute traditions every year. The invitation to the snowball fight is disguised as an invite from Dr Seuss, which is a fun twist for students that references Dartmouth history. Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr Seuss’) was an undergraduate at Dartmouth and graduated in 1925. Because of this reference, the tradition becomes even more culturally tied to Dartmouth. Furthermore, the tradition informally marks the beginning of the Dartmouth winter term, and acts as a precursor to the tradition rich winter that features the annual Winter Carnival, the polar plunge, and an ice-carving contest.
Item:
On the night of the school year’s first snowfall, all undergraduate students receive a school issued email from the email address of ‘Dr Seuss’ addressed to Robert Frost and the rest of campus, inviting everyone to engage in a snowball fight on the Green at midnight. At midnight, the Green is filled with students from all over campus, and everyone runs around throwing snowballs at each other. The fight typically lasts until there is no snow left to make snowballs from.
Associated File:
Transcript:
Collector: “Are there any other traditions we haven’t discussed that you think are important to freshman fall at Dartmouth?”
Informant: “I distinctly remember the snowball fight as a very fun end to my freshman fall. I received the email from Dr Seuss which I thought was pretty funny and I got really excited. I was a little nervous that people wouldn’t go since it was at midnight and it would be a little weird if only a few students gathered on the Green to throw a few snowballs, but I went and there were so many people! It was super fun and packed with students, and it was nice to see that so many people were awake at the time and took the time to go share the experience together.”
Collector Comment:
I also participated in the snowball fight my freshman fall, and it made me very excited for the upcoming winter term.
Collected By:
Una Westvold
Oslo, Norway
Hanover, NH
Dartmouth College
RUSS 013
Fall 2021
