“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten
And children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow, oh, the snow” — Irving Berlin
Why do so many people hope for a white Christmas, “just like the ones I used to know?”
Blame song writers like Irving Berlin. Crooners like Bing Crosby. Illustrators like Norman Rockwell. And great authors like Charles Dickens.
It’s a purely cultural phenomenon that may have little to do with weather.
Essentially, it’s a romanticized vision of a peaceful and beautiful winter Christmas, the kind we experienced as children with grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. A simpler time in our life, free from the worries of adulthood.
Certainly, people who grew up in the south and west didn’t experience a white Christmas. Yet, Crosby’s version of Berlin’s song plays on Phoenix radio stations as often as it does in the midwest during this time of year.
“White Christmas,” written by Berlin in January 1940, isn’t just notable for being played frequently during the month of December. It’s an extremely influential and popular song. It’s even listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for selling more than 100 million copies worldwide.
The truth is that hoping for a white Christmas has become another holiday tradition, just like putting up the Christmas trees and outside lights, drinking eggnog and hanging stockings.
It isn’t exclusive to the United States. It’s such a big deal in London and Dublin, for instance, that people actually track odds and gamble every year on whether or not there will be any snowfall on Dec. 25.
It’s more likely that Crosby’s singing and nostalgic illustrations like Rockwell’s snowy Christmas scenes evoke a yearning for a simpler time, fraught with a sense of longing for our childhood days.
Let’s face it. A white Christmas means more to children. Snow looks good with Christmas trees. You can play in the snow and come into the house for hot chocolate and freshly-baked cookies.
Every image associated with Christmas has snow, sleighs, reindeer, Santa Claus, toys, and a dinner table with a beautifully browned roast turkey on it. Presents wrapped in pretty paper under the tree. School’s out for 10 days so you can sleep late and have a hot breakfast in the mornings.
Maybe those are the memories we associate with a white Christmas, giving it a far deeper meaning than frozen precipitation covering the lawn.
Having said all of that, people who live in the northern half of Ohio (i.e. north central Ohio) have a historical chance of about 50 percent for a white Christmas, according to the National Weather Service. In the southern half of the state, that drops to about 25 percent.
The National Weather Service defines a white Christmas as having at least one inch of snow on the ground on Christmas morning.
To be honest, it doesn’t look good for a white Christmas in Richland, Ashland and Knox counties on Wednesday. In fact, we may lose most of the white stuff on the ground now seen in some areas that fell over the weekend.
The forecast Monday night is for rain, possibly mixed with snow showers before 1 a.m. and then a chance of rain showers. The low will be around 34. Little or no snow accumulation is expected.
During the day on Christmas Eve, there is a slight chance of rain and snow showers before 8 a.m. and then a slight chance of rain showers between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. The chance of precipitation is 20 percent.
During the night on Tuesday, it will be cloudy with a low around 32 — but no rain or snow in the forecast.
On Christmas day, there is a 30 percent chance of rain, mainly after 1 p.m. It will be cloudy with a high near 40.
But not to worry. Wake up early Christmas Day. Enjoy your coffee or hot chocolate. Turn on the Christmas tree lights. Put on the song, sink into your recliner and reminisce about Christmas past, whether it was snowy or not. That will do the trick.
Merry Christmas to all.