Good Question!

'Who Made Us Dream of a White Christmas?'

Carl Franzen Dec 18, 2009

Green Christmas might be the new millennial ideal for some, but for those of us in amenable climes, the holidays aren't complete without snow. Fortunately, this season already has an abundance of the stuff in D.C. (the Atlantic Wire's home turf) and elsewhere. But just where did the obsession with a fresh Christmas snowfall come from? After all, for the majority of the world, it doesn't snow in winter. Sphere's Paul Yeager has a few theories:

With snowy, cold winters during his youth, it's not surprising that cold and snow played an important role in Dickens' famous Christmas stories, including his most famous, "A Christmas Carol," which was written in 1843. But is that lone writer truly the source of the modern white Christmas lore?

If we were to credit one person with making us dream of a white Christmas in 20th- and 21st-century America, it would surely fall to a certain white-bearded, weight-challenged superstar of the Arctic north [aka Santa Claus].

Yeager continues to describe how Santa's supposed natural habitat, the North Pole, combined with "a child's natural love of snow -- with snowmen, sled rides, hot chocolate and school cancellations" is the true inspiration for our fixation on flakes. Do you agree, or is there something else that explains it?

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

Sources

Paul Yeager, Who Really Made Us Dream of a White Christmas?, Sphere

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Topics: Society

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