When we hear Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” every year, most of us feel the yearning for a thick covering of fresh snow on Christmas morning. In the following passages, we’ll look at where the concept came from, and where in the world is mostly likely to see snow during the festive period.
Where did the notion come from?
The nostalgic notion of a white Christmas dates back to the time of Charles Dickens, when he penned the likes of “A Christmas Carol” and “The Pickwick Papers”. Both depicted a snow-covered festive season, influenced by Dickens’ own childhood memories of cold, snowy winters – he was a boy during one of the coldest decades in England in over a century.
What constitutes a white Christmas?
These days, there are strict criteria for an official “white Christmas”, and different countries have different rules.
Southern hemisphere countries will rarely see one, as December lands in their summer season. A southern hemisphere country seeing snow would be a little like the UK having snow on the 25th of June – not impossible, but unlikely.
If we look to the Northern hemisphere and our neighbours across the pond, America needs to see at least 2.5cm of lying snow on Christmas Day to be counted as a white Christmas, whereas Canada is content with anything over 2cm.
In the UK, we have a pretty low bar for white Christmas criteria. The mere observation of snow falling during the Christmas Day 24-hour period, even if it melts before hitting the ground, constitutes a white Christmas. However, there is little doubt that a few flakes of rapidly melting slush is not quite as magical as the snow-laden rooves and trees of Dickens’ novels.
Where is most likely to have a white Christmas?
This year, our ability to travel is restricted somewhat. However, if the pursuit of a true white Christmas is on your bucket list for the future, some countries have a high chance of snowfall over the festive period.
In Europe, generally speaking, the further north and east you travel, the higher the chances of snow on Christmas Day. The Scandinavian countries, Russia and northeast Poland frequently experience a white Christmas, and they are much more likely to see white flakes than southern France, for example. If you head high into the mountain ranges, your odds increase again.
Over in Northern America, a Canadian white Christmas is very likely, with the exception of the more southern regions. Similarly, the northern areas of the United States have a reasonable chance. Again, heading to the heights of ranges like the Rockies will bring colder and snowier weather.
Back here in the UK, it is impossible to predict a white Christmas until we’re almost upon the big day. Bookmakers may take bets, but the Met Office says it can’t make any realistic predictions until about five days before Christmas.
In the meantime, put your decorations up, pour yourself a mug of something warm and perhaps immerse yourself in a Dickens novel, where it’s always a white Christmas.
