Snow at Christmas is deep-seated in British culture, and many of us long for the likes of the scenes depicted on traditional Christmas cards and in works like Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' or 'Pickwick Papers'.
The interest in snowy Christmases has its origins in the colder climate of the period 1550-1850 when Britain was in the grip of a 'Little Ice Age'. Winters were particularly persistent and severe — 1813/14 was the last winter that a 'frost fair' was held on the River Thames in London.
For most parts of the UK, Christmas comes at the beginning of the season for snow. Wintry weather is more likely early in the deepening cold of January. White Christmases were more frequent in the 18th and 19th centuries, even more so before the change of calendar in 1752 which effectively brought Christmas day back by 12 days.
Definition of a White Christmas
What is a white Christmas?
For many a white Christmas means a complete covering of snow, ideally falling on the 25th.
However, the definition of an official white Christmas used most widely, notably by those placing and taking bets, is for a single snow flake (perhaps amongst a shower of rain and snow mixed) to be observed falling in the 24 hours of 25 December.
The last official white Christmas was in 2004, when snow was widespread across Northern Ireland, Scotland, parts of Wales, the Midlands, north-east and far south-west England.
