Christmas Songs Aren't Written by Floridians

My title is probably a sweeping generalization.  I haven't done the research to know for sure, but I don't think anybody who has ever lived in Florida has written a Christmas song, at least not a popular one they play on the radio 80,000 times between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.  I have been waiting for this time of the year since I moved here in June.  I wondered what it would feel like to not see snow during the winter.  I wondered what it would be like to not have 30-degree days on a regular basis.  Now that we are here and there is no snow and every other day is in the 70s, it seems a bit strange to be listening to Christmas music on the radio even though I know in my head that it really is the Christmas season.

Let's think about some of the Christmas songs we hear.  The obvious one would be "Let it Snow."  The song is about wanting the snow to fall so the two lovebirds would have an excuse to not have to go home.  If it were written in Florida the title might be something like, "Guess We Have to go Home Since it's Never Going to Snow."

How about "Frosty the Snowman?"  The closest we'll ever get to a snowman here is if we make a whole lot of shaved ice and roll it into a ball, but then "Frosty the Shaved Ice Man" doesn't really have the same ring to it.  "Sleigh Ride" has a line that reads "We're riding in a wonderland of snow."  It would be a wonder to see that much snow here to need a sleigh.

I suppose there is one song that could have been written by a Floridian - "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas."  It would have to be a dream.  Since the Christmas songs started on the radio the day after Thanksgiving, I have thought about how many songs talk about snow and how foreign a concept that is to those who live in warm climates.  Kids who have never seen snow really have no idea what it is like to be in that "wonderland."

I will agree that snow is pretty...if I'm inside and warm and don't have to go out in it.  I have decided I'd like snow more if it came when it was 70 degrees.  I won't miss having to scrape my windows.  I won't miss weeks on end of subfreezing temperatures.  I'll have to admit, though, that I'll miss the feeling of the Christmas season that snow brings, since that is what I grew up knowing.  It'll take some time to get used to Christmas lights on the palm trees and wearing shorts for family photos around the tree.

Here are some memories of a recent Pittsburgh winter...