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Laster
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Commentary by Nanette Laster
I’ve been hoping for snow.
I make no secret that I am a “winter” person. Our hot, humid summers are almost too much for me to bear.
So far this holiday season, there hasn’t even been a tease of snow. No white Christmas for us.
Most Southerners don’t like snow. It’s an inconvenience. It makes them crazy. I guess that’s because we’re not prepared to deal with the rare times we get a substantial snowfall.
I don’t want lots of snow (and Lord, you can keep the ice.) No power or telephone outages; nobody injured in a fall or on a slick highway. Up to my knees would be plenty.
In some ways, I think I’ve become “programmed” to want snow this time of year.
Most holiday songs, at least the secular ones, contain references to snow.
I’m dreaming of a white Christmas ...
Please have snow and mistletoe ...
Dashing through the snow ...
It’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you ...
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow ...
In the meadow we can build a snowman ...
In the lane, snow is glistening ...
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes...
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow...
See what I mean.
A lot of Christmas cards also depict snow scenes:
Lights glow from inside a snow-covered country church.
A lone red bird is perched on a branch of a snow-covered tree.
A family carries a freshly-cut evergreen tree out of the snow-covered forest.
You know, Currier and Ives Christmases.
I can’t really explain why I have this fascination with snow, except maybe it’s because of how little we get here in the South.
When I was a youngster -- way back in the days before we had the Weather Channel -- snowfalls were a great surprise. Back then, the best weather indicator was what was happening in the big city north of Duck Hill, where I grew up. The news that “it’s snowing in Memphis” was almost as good as “Santa Claus comes tonight.”
What a thrill it was on those rare occasions to wake in the morning and find the ground covered -- and no school that day!
To me, snow is peaceful and quiet. Maybe that’s because most Southerners look at it with such disdain that they just stay inside instead of getting out and enjoying God’s wonder.
But, haven’t you ever noticed that snow can bring a kind of reverence to just about anything? Even a garbage dump can be beautiful when shrouded with a pure, white covering.
And nothing is prettier than the rosy cheeks or bright smile of a child after building a snowman.
I like to walk in snow.
I like to play in snow.
I like to watch snow fall.
I like snow ice cream.
I like to listen to snow. Some folks disagree, but I think you can hear snow falling. It’s a light, crunchy sound.
Snow is one of God’s beautiful creations. Only he could insure that no two snowflakes are the same.
A white Christmas in Mississippi? Not this year, and probably not next, but as another song says, I can dream, can’t I?
Merry Christmas.
Editor@GrenadaStar.com
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