"A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water." - Carl Reiner
In 1940, Irving Berlin wrote the song "White Christmas" for the film Holiday Inn. Recorded by Bing Crosby, the song became a Christmas classic. It is this song that I blame for brainwashing a whole population of people at that time and in subsequent years into dreaming year after year of a snowy Christmas.
Other than through the song and in the movies, I can't really think of what the association is between Christmas and snow. Historians tell us that Jesus was most likely born in September in Bethlehem though his birth may have been as early as June. Whether in June, July, August or September, there was no snow in Bethlehem. At the time Berlin wrote the song, he was living in Hollywood. There was no snow there either.
If there was ever a time we don't need snow it is at Christmas when travellers are trying to drive and fly around the continent. Snow causes delays in the air and on the ground. It makes driving much less safe and forces shoppers to move through malls in heavy coats and boots.
You won't catch me dreaming of a white Christmas. I would be just as happy if I never saw another flake of snow.
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