While for many people - including the creators of countless Christmas cards, films and songs - a snow-covered landscape is what makes the holiday season perfect, most snow doesn't fall until January and February. However, between the 16th and 19th centuries, global temperatures were significantly lower than they are now. It was precisely at this time that many important writers grew up, including Charles Dickens. The white Christmas had a great influence on him and his stories, and a tradition of expecting snow for the holidays began.
To follow our own, much younger tradition of #postcardsofthemonth, we have put together some fun facts about snow for you!
1. Did you know that the song “White Christmas” is one of the best-selling Christmas songs worldwide?
2. It has been so long since it last snowed in Sydney, Australia, that no photos of the event can be found. The winter of 1836 is said to have been the only time the port city snowed heavily enough to have a continuous blanket of snow.
3. "You are as unique as a snowflake" is not as big a compliment as we previously thought. In 1988, scientist Nancy Knight found two identical snow crystals that came from a storm in Wisconsin.
4. Snow doesn't just make us freeze! In fact, it can be about 50°C warmer inside an igloo than outside (assuming you're a pro at building igloos). Since fresh, compact snow encloses about 90 to 95 percent air, which cannot move and transfer heat, it is an excellent insulator. Animals like bears also take advantage of this and dig deep holes in the snow to hibernate in.
5. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest snowball fight took place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada on January 31, 2016. 7,681 people came together to take part in the icy antics!
