Menu
Christmas cards, Christmas specials, or Christmas carols, one thing that seems to be a universal message is the presence of snow. Glistening snowflakes and snowy white lawns have become as much a part of the Christmas message as anything. Perhaps it is because it looks so bright and pure or because it makes the scene immediately identifiable as a winter one, and therefore links it to Christmas. But there are many people in the English-speaking world who have never seen a White Christmas, and wonder if they will.
The chance of a white Christmas depends, of course, on where you live. Here in Southern California, our home is high enough in the Saddleback Mountain foothills that we have had snow three times since we’ve lived here. While it was short lived and only once did we have enough snow for a mini snowball fight, it wasn’t at Christmas. This year, we’ve just had days of rain which while needed, isn’t what we or tourists expect in Southern California at Christmas.
In the Southern Hemisphere, Australia has Christmas in the middle of its climatic summer. Australia is a temperate country anyway, so the chances of snow at Christmas are roughly equivalent to those of a 100-degree heatwave in New York in January. Even in the United Kingdom, which is known for its cold winters, snow tends to hold off until January for whatever reason. Though cold enough, the snow just doesn’t seem to have that sense of timing.
Nonetheless, whether you live somewhere that gets snow reliably at Christmas or somewhere where it is unlikely to ever happen, the fact remains that snow is something that is inextricably linked with Christmas. This holds true wherever you are, and is why we all know what Bing Crosby was singing about.
