Scrooge : Snow in London?

Snow in London?

I was curious as to why many of Dickens' great novels always show snow in London and in England as well. According to statistics, London rarely, if ever, had a snowy Christmas. Anybody know why Dickens included snow in his books (Oliver Twist, etc)

Re: Snow in London?

It didn't always snow at Christmas it's true but London (and other major cities) certainly had there fair share of bad weather especially in the pre industrialised age in which Dickens grew up. When it did snow or freeze in London it could provide opportunity for Londoners to let down their hair on the frozen River Thames. There would be sheep and pig roasting, frost fairs and skating and these going on for weeks at a time until a thaw came - one reason why Dickens might have found it a way of increasing the idea of excitement and holiday spirit in Christmas Carol (think of the snowball fight description).This might have been a distraction from the paralysing effect the snow had - the Thames and other rivers were arterial routes for transport until the arrival of the railways and their freezing would have had a crippling effect on trade. Roads became impassable and conditions difficult for the poor who were obliged to collect fuel from common land where it could be had for free.All very difficult for everyone but set against that would be the change from the routine day to day and let's be honest, that's still exciting !

Re: Snow in London?

I give you credit for being perceptive. Few people noticed this climatic oddity. But few people noticed the Currier and Ives Christmas cards and calendars which show a very snowy, wintry England, which does not have the same amount of snow today.

The reason is climate history. In the 19th century, the "Little Ice Age" was coming to an end. It had been preceded by the "Climatic Optimum", a 700 year period of unusually warm global temperatures that led to the growing of grapes in southern England and passable farming conditions in Iceland and southern Greenland. It was followed by a long period of unusually low temperatures, the "Little Ice Age". It was a disaster for global populations and civilization. A terrible Arctic-like winter devastated Napoleon's Grand Army in Russia in 1812. The time period of the Little Ice Age was finally drawing down in the first half of the 1800s. Lingering cold global temperatures led to heavy snowfalls and snowdrifts in England in the 1ate 1840s, the time period of Scrooge.

Re: Snow in London?

Lower temperatures were the norm in pre-industrialised England as far back as The Great Frost of 1739-40 which wrecked shipping on the Thames and continued right through the Victorian period.Snow became one of the emblems of Christmas largely thanks to Dickens and one, that like stage coaches and men in toppers, is still used as a short cut to represent Christmas by card makers and film makers alike today.

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