The snowflake or ''snow crystal'', is a charge in heraldry. The display in coats of arms is following a strictly stylized form of the natural six pointed crystal form of a

snowflake A snowflake is a single ice crystal that has achieved a sufficient size, and may have amalgamated with others, which falls through the Earth's atmosphere as snow.Knight, C.; Knight, N. (1973). Snow crystals. Scientific American, vol. 228, no. ...

. In older heraldic literature, this charge is not to be seen. In modern heraldry, the snowflake is most used in northern Europe, in arms in Sweden,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, where it alludes to the meteorological features of the lands. Otherwise, it also is a symbol for

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

, and together with the sun the changing seasons (''e.g.'' In the arms of

Bad Kleinkirchheim Bad Kleinkirchheim is a municipality and spa town in the district of Spittal an der Drau, in Carinthia, Austria. Until the middle of the 20th century, agriculture was the dominant focus, but it is now a renowned spa and ski resort. Although recor ...

, Austria, ), or locally important

winter sport Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold are ...

(''e.g.''

Saalbach-Hinterglemm Saalbach-Hinterglemm is a municipality in the district of Zell am See ( Pinzgau region), in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is well known for its skiing and other winter sports. A four piste network consisting of Saalbach, Hinterglemm, Fieberb ...

, Austria, together with a pair of skis). The

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

is often argent (silver). File:Bad Kleinkirchheim CoA.svg,

File:Kylmäkoski.vaakuna.svg,

Kylmäkoski Kylmäkoski (; literally meaning "cold rapids") is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Akaa on 1 January 2011. It was located in the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality had a population of 2,610 (31 October 2010) ...

File:Lumijoki.vaakuna.svg,

Lumijoki Lumijoki is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Hailuoto, L ...

File:Mullsjö vapen.svg, Mullsjö File:Boexlund-Wappen.png, Böxlund File:Wappen at kirchschlag-bei-linz.png,

Kirchschlag bei Linz Kirchschlag bei Linz is a municipality in the district of Urfahr-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Up ...

File:AUT Sankt Lorenzen am Wechsel COA.jpg, Sankt Lorenzen am Wechsel File:Wappen at saalbach.png,

File:Wappen at sandl.png, Sandl

Literature

* Walter Leonhard: ''Das große Buch der Wappenkunst. Entwicklung, Elemente, Bildmotive, Gestaltung.'' Lizenzausgabe. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 2001, , S. 261.

External links

{{commonscat, Snowflakes in heraldry Heraldic charges Snow in culture