I live near the national shrine to
Our Lady of the Snows, so I know the interesting backstory to how she received this name. A Roman patrician couple made a vow to donate their possessions to the Virgin Mary. They prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of their property in her honor. On August 5, at the height of the Roman summer, snow fell during the night on the summit of the Esquiline Hill. The couple built a church in honor of Mary on the very spot that was covered with snow -- the Basilica of St. Mary Major.