Ice carving is an artisan tradition dating back to the 1600s. The first known ice carving took place in the Chinese province of Heilongjiang on the border of Russia. Native hunters and fishermen filled buckets with water to make ice, slid it out, and put a candle in the hole to make a lantern. The trend spread and people started hanging decorated lanterns from homes. Since then, ice carving has become a worldwide phenomenon with competitions at festivals and ice sculptures as a main feature at many special events and activities. Each Monday, artist Theron Kingston of Spiffy Ice will be creating a different holiday-themed sculpture out of 300-pound blocks of ice. Sculptures will remain on display until they melt away.