At Least the Week Before Christmas Was White

The yearning for a white Christmas must be particular to those who live in the upper reaches of the northern hemisphere, as is the minor disappointment of waking up on Christmas morning to find the landscape not blanketed by a thick cover of snow. Having spent most of my childhood and a considerable part of my adulthood in a small town north of Toronto, Canada, annual white Christmases could almost be guaranteed. Having said this, I have lived in many other places where a white Christmas was either unpredictable (Frankfurt, Germany; New York City, NY, USA; Morpeth, England) or practically impossible (Sarasota, FL, USA). Though I enjoyed the Christmases I celebrated in these places, the lack of snow dampened the festive aura of the season for me, which is ridiculous when one considers the place and climate of the very first Christmas. Perhaps the whole white Christmas thing is more closely connected to some ancient pagan tradition or corporate marketing campaign, but I have no desire to wade into all of that right now. 

Irrespective of its relevance to the true meaning of the Holy Day, a white Christmas has always held a special place in my heart. Unfortunately, the area of the world in which I currently reside - a small village near Sopron, Hungary - also falls into the unpredictable category as far as snowy Christmases go. Though it snows during the winter, the chance of snow at Christmas time is slim. I have lived here for nearly four years and have not experienced a single white Christmas to date. The forecast this year does not bode well for snow either; however, there was some snowfall last week, and consistently cold temperatures have kept it around for the better part of a week, which has been great. The best experience was having snow on the ground during the small Christmas market celebration my village holds every year. Milling about in a wintry landscape around the village church while drinking mulled wine and speaking with neighbours and friends was a truly memorable and wonderful time. 

Just like last year, the chance of a white Christmas in this part of the world this season is small, but at least the week before Christmas was white, which was great all the same.