Christmas is approaching

Christmas is approaching, but this year I've got some difficulties in getting into the right feeling. It's not the idea of the holiday as a such, I'm pretty content with the Birth of Jesus Christ and Peace on Earth. It's the weather.

Last year around this time we've had snow - lots of snow, far more than I deemed necessary, actually -, this year we've had temperatures usually associated with early spring even in December (while we've had snow until late in March). Only currently - and I'm writing this on December 18th - the temperature has dropped to the normal level, more or less.

I can still remember the past couple of years and how thrilled I was (even though I'm hardly a kid any more, nor am I a teenager) when I woke up around December 20th and could see the snow on the roof opposite to my room through the window (I can't any longer, though, because I no longer live at home and due to the street lamps have to draw the curtains at night). I still remember one rather funny Christmas when it seemed as if we were not going to get "White Christmas" and I played "WarCraft II" on Christmas Eve (even one of the snow maps) and suddenly looked up to find the roof opposite covered in white snow - it was almost magical. That might look like a childish behaviour to you - and probably is -, but it's not the worst case of childish behaviour I have to offer (I can still spent a long time watching a spider build up its net or other things most grown-ups don't even notice). To me snow coming unexpected on Christmas Eve is a little bit of magic in a cynical world - even though I usually am a member of the cynical fraction myself.

So deep in my heart I still hope we'll get "White Christmas" - though preferably not before December 24th, because I have to mind the street this week and am not thrilled by the idea of shovelling snow every morning. What I also hope (because it slowly gets on my nerves by now) is that someone will 'mislay' all the copies of "Last Christmas" by WHAM!.