For the past several years, I’ve noticed that my holiday spirit has decreased exponentially. Carols didn’t sound as merry, presents were disappointing, and the thought of break only brought thoughts of upcoming exams. For a while, I’ve been wondering what happened to this bright and child-like holiday spirit, but today, I have finally come to a conclusion. The decrease in snow correlates to my decrease in holiday spirit.

Call me over dramatic and shout that it’s probably just the work of the curse known as ‘growing up,’ but let’s be honest: how are we supposed to feel the joys of the holidays when the whole world is gray, cold, and depressing? Snow is the most beautiful and iconic part of winter and the herald of the holidays. 

And why is snow the herald of holidays, you ask? Well, take a look at every single depiction of all the adored winter holidays in the media. Nearly every holiday movie, advertisement, book, picture, and painting has snow in them. 

With all this promise of snow, being greeted with nothing but light flurries, depressing gray skies, and no school cancellations, all of these expectations of what the holidays should look like just feels like an empty promise. And nothing kills the holiday spirit more than disappointment. The only reason we’re dreaming of white Christmases now is because they don’t exist anymore. 

Snow was the best thing ever. There’s fluffy snow that looks like someone dusted the world with powdered sugar. There’s icy snow that makes satisfying crunches whenever you step in it. There’s sticky snow that can be made into ammo for epic snowball fights. 

I have so many precious memories with snow too. I can remember all the winters where my brother and I would watch the snow plower and then play in the mounds they’d form by the street, pretending we were climbing Mount Everest. Or those times I was waiting for the first snow so my mom could make apple cider donuts (it was family tradition to make them at the first snow). There was even a sweet moment where my family traveled to Montreal, Canada and saw that some random people piled all their shoveled snow into one huge mound in the middle of the city so children could sled down it. 

I’m sure everyone has their own precious memories of snow. Don’t you remember how it felt to wake up one morning and see the world covered in a fluffy crystalline blanket? How it felt to look at the early morning light and shadows of trees forming peach and periwinkle blue stripes over the snow? How exciting it felt when you tried to follow the mysterious trail of animal footprints? How it felt to look for the longest icicles? 

Snow cancels school. Snow is the most iconic part of winter. Snow is the herald of holidays. Without it, nothing feels quite right. 

I honestly hope that I can re-experience these precious snow-related memories, but part of me highly doubts it—I’m just glad I had the opportunity to experience snow in the past. As for our holiday spirits, I suppose that the only thing we can do for now is to keep dreaming about white Christmases.