Why Do We Dream of a White Christmas

In an earnest attempt to eclipse a number of pagan winter celebrations and the festivities associated with them of days long ago departed and to attract the masses away from their idolatry and into the awaiting bosom of Christianity, the commemoration of the birth of Christ which was ultimately called Christmas was permanently set on December 25. To the best of our knowledge, Jesus was never anywhere near snowy peaks and icicles.

Why then are so many of us dreaming of a “white Christmas”? Well, Christmas originated in Europe which is in the Northern Hemisphere where December 25 is, for some of the regions, winter white with snow. Needless to say, snowy weather on Christmas Day is far more common in some countries or parts of those countries yet it is an unheard of phenomenon in others. As a result of oceanic air currents, global warming and various other meteorological factors, even some of the northern area such as the Scandinavian countries, the Baltic States and northern Russia and Belarus do not always experience “white Christmas”. Western and southern Europeans rarely see snow on December 25 while those in the northern and eastern parts of the same continent see it more frequently.

The quest for a “white Christmas” is so compelling in the United Kingdom that even regions that have the remotest of possibilities of having snow on Christmas Day have been closely monitoring precipitation on that day. Whether it reaches the ground or not, if a single little snow flake is witnessed coming down in the twenty four hours of December 25, it is officially declared as a “white Christmas” and it is entered into the records as such. Other countries which are less zealous and perhaps more realistic require a specified quantity of settled snow before claiming it to be a “white Christmas.”

Let us, if you will, take a look at a few statistics pertaining to the probability of a “white Christmas” in several major cities of the United States as compiled by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and based on recorded information between 1988 through 2005.

* Cities in the United States that have 50% or more probability of having a “white Christmas” with at least one inch of snow on the ground are:

Anchorage, Alaska (90%); Fairbanks, Alaska (100%); Denver, Colorado (50%); Hartford, Connecticut (57%); Des Moines, Iowa (50%); Portland, Maine (83%); Detroit, Michigan (50%);Marquette, Michigan (100%); Duluth, Minnesota (97%); Minneapolis, Minnesota (73%); Helena, Montana (67%); Concord, New Hampshire (87%); Massena, New York (77%); Fargo, North Dakota (83%); Cleveland, Ohio (50%); Akron, Ohio (50%); Salt Lake City, Utah (53%); Spokane, Washington (70%); and Milwaukee, Wisconsin (60%).

* Cities in the United States that have less than 50% probability of having a “white Christmas” with at least one inch of snow on the ground are:

Annette Island, Alaska (17%); Phoenix, Arizona (17%); Little Rock, Arkansas (3%); Los Angeles, California (1%); San Francisco, California (1%); Wilmington, Delaware (13%); Washington, DC (13%); Savannah, Georgia (3%); Boise, Idaho (30%); Chicago, Illinois (40%); Indianapolis, Indiana (30%); Topeka, Kansas (23%); Louisville, Kentucky (13%); Boston, Massachusetts (23%); St. Louis, Missouri (23%); Omaha, Nebraska (44%); Reno, Nevada (20%); Newark, New Jersey (23%); Albuquerque, New Mexico (3%); New York, New York (10%); Charlotte, North Carolina (1%); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (3%); Portland, Oregon (1%); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (10%); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (33%); Providence, Rhode Island (37%); Charleston, South Caronia (3%); Rapid City, South Dakota (47%); Nashville, Tennessee (13%); Amarillo, Texas (7%); Dallas, Texas (8%); Richmond, Virginia (7%); Seattle, Washington (8%); Charleston, West Virginia (30%); Huntington, West Virginia (23%); Casper, and Wyoming (47%).

Meteorologist Dale Kaiser, a researcher for the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) which is the database for global environment research, has concluded that, particularly in its northeastern regions, the United States has been facing a significant decline in frequencies of a “white Christmas.”

The statistics I have shown you of probable a “white Christmas” in the United States merely reflect the probabilities of a “white Christmas” around the world. It is obvious that many more places will not have a “white Christmas” than those which will. Why then do we dream of having a “white Christmas”? Why not? After all, so many of the Christmas traditions that we hold so dear today are just compilations of bits and unrelated pieces of folklore, of superstition and of heresy from around the world. And a very small portion of them, any at all, have anything remotely connected to Jesus of Nazareth or the true date of his birthday.

Merry Christmas to you all and a very happy new year!