Everyone knows the classic Christmas songs: White Christmas, Let it Snow, even Blue Christmas. But why do so many Christmas songs involve snow? Most people who have a white Christmas don’t even want it. Shoveling snow is very tiring to do, especially on Christmas morning. So why is it so popular?
Music
The main reason why the “White Christmas ideology” is popular is due to music: 90% of Christmas songs are just remakes of an even older song. This even counts for the classic song White Christmas. The original song White Christmas was made by the artist Irving Berlin in January of 1940, and remains one of the most played songs ever. It even has its own Guinness Book of World Records title for earning over 50 million plays worldwide. This was mainly because of the time period this song came out in. When this song came out, America was entering World War 2, and almost every soldier wanted a copy of this song to hear. Even Americans who had a very unlikely chance of getting snow sang this song. After that, more and more artists started remaking the song, solidifying it as a classic Christmas song, and a reason everyone loves white Christmases.
The main reason why the “White Christmas ideology” is popular is due to music: 90% of Christmas songs are just remakes of an even older song. This even counts for the classic song White Christmas. The original song White Christmas was made by the artist Irving Berlin in January of 1940, and remains one of the most played songs ever. It even has its own Guinness Book of World Records title for earning over 50 million plays worldwide. This was mainly because of the time period this song came out in. When this song came out, America was entering World War 2, and almost every soldier wanted a copy of this song to hear. Even Americans who had a very unlikely chance of getting snow sang this song. After that, more and more artists started remaking the song, solidifying it as a classic Christmas song, and a reason everyone loves white Christmases.
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Stories
Back in 1812, a writer named Charles Dickens wrote a tale called A Christmas Carol. In this story he writes about a very cold Christmas day. This weather was made to affect this story's main character Scrooge, even though he wasn’t affected by any of the bad weather. Dickens describes the snow in a way that makes it seem horrible, talking about how many people were freezing cold and how dark and gloomy it was. Throughout the story, Scrooge gains an appreciation for Christmas and the holidays. By the time he was done getting haunted by the spirits, he loved Christmas. When he got back the final time, instead of the cold being horrible and miserable, it’s now bright and cold. It’s Christmas Day and there was a beautiful layer of snow on the ground. This is once again a depiction of Christmas with snow. |
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Art and Poetry
Back in the mid to late 19th century, many artists/printmakers created illustrations depicting a white Christmas. In 1868, an artist painted/ printed an illustration called American Homestead Winter. Not much earlier, a poem named A Visit from St. Nicholas, published anonymously, was in the newspaper. This poem contains lines such as “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse” which is used in songs and “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night”, which is often used in movie lines. Even though this poem mainly describes Santa, it still says, “The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,” still depicting a White Christmas. |
Overall, history and passing down old tales from our past is the reason for everyone wanting the infamous White Christmas.
Allyse Walker
