"Pure as the Driven Snow"

Where the hell did this phrase come from?

I had never heard it in my entire life until today, when I heard it THREE times. What the hell is going on? It's kinda weird how that happens - you go so long without hearing a word or phrase then suddenly it's everywhere.

It doesn't even make sense to me either. Driven snow? Call me crazy but I see "driven snow" every year by February. And it looks disgusting.