Snow Culture

It's snowing today, a soft gentle fall of thick fluffy flakes.  Occasionally when the wind picks up a little, it becomes more of a driving snow, on the verge of stinging sleet.

Have you ever stopped to think about the many words and phrases we have in our Canadian culture to refer to the chief feature of winter, snow?  And just think of all the related descriptors: sleet, slush, pellets, flakes, snowbanks, windrows, snow slide, blizzard, white out, snow ball, snow man, snow plow ... the list seems endless.

Then there are all the products related to the white flakes that boosts our economy in the winter months.  Blankets, parkas, mittens, toboggans, sleds, snow shoes, snow shovels, snow tires, earmuffs, snow blowers .... another apparently endless list.  And the arts get in on the act as well with photography, painting, writing, and music describing or relating to snow.  It seems everyone, even people in snowless regions, know the words to White Christmas and Jingle Bells.

And consider all the words, products, and arts related to the season of snow: winter, cold snap, frosty, icicle, ice skates, ice scrapers, snow mobiles, frostbite, mittens, scarves, snow boots, skis, wood stoves, and hot chocolate, to name just a few.  We Canadians "get" all of these.  We understand terms like cabin fever and snowbound.  We know what weatherstripping is for and why chains are an essential part of long distance truckers' gear.

All this is on my mind today because tomorrow my Australian future son-in-law arrives at Winnipeg airport.  He has visited here for a few weeks once before, in the fall.  His experience of very cold doesn't go further than night time temps of -5 Celsius.  He has never stepped on an icy sidewalk or road, climbed a snow bank, shovelled a sidewalk, or felt near frostbite on ears, fingers, or toes.

 

He thinks, and I really hope it lasts for him, that snow is magical and beautiful.  I fear that, once he lives here permanently, he might become a little disenchanted with the white stuff and all it brings with it after he's experienced shovelling two feet of snow with no place to put it, digging a car out after it slid into a snowbank, or postponing our plans because of blizzards, or hazardous ice conditions.

We're well rounded people, we Canadians, and especially we Manitobans, with our summer and winter weather extremes.  Hank is well versed in dealing with very hot conditions but he has an education awaiting him ... starting the minute he steps out of the Winnipeg airport!