Christmas and Snow

 

For me and many others who live in the north, snow and Christmas go together.  Maybe it’s because of songlines like,” I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas,” crooned by Bing Crosby.  The song debuted Christmas Day 1941, just three weeks after Pearl Harbor and the beginning of World War II.  It provided those of us who were living at that time a powerful image that helped us through the war.

Other songs add to that nostalgic view of Christmas with snow such as “Winter Wonderland (1934), and “Let it Snow” (1945).

 Or maybe the tune, “Dashing through the snow with a one-horse open sleigh,” (Jingle Bells), performed at each of the eight Christmas Programs I was a part of at our One-Room Country School. Jingle Bells was written in the mid-1800s and continues popular to this day. 

Oh, not to forget.  Does Santa Claus ride in a wagon, or in buggy, or a convertible auto? No.  He rides in a sleigh. How could Santa make his rounds with no snow?  Unthinkable.

As a kid, Christmas meant Christmas vacation, two weeks away from school.  Two weeks to go skiing, and sledding, and building snow forts, and throwing snowballs at your brothers. Christmas vacation without snow was like going swimming in a dried-up lake.

Often overlooked, but I suspect not so much this year with all the COVID worries, Christmas lights sparkling on new-fallen snow are as beautiful as anything imaginable.

Merry Christmas to all.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Freshly fallen snow makes Christmas special.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To learn more about Christmas in days past, see The Quiet Season. Purchase my newest books, When the White Pine Was King, and The Old Timer Says: A Writing Journal, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s. Say hello to Jana and Dave, and look at their great selection of my books, including my new ones, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.