The most magical day of the year occurs the moment the very first snowflake falls in the eyes of a child. Or perhaps for those of us who still feel the pull of winter with the anticipation of our inner child. In that moment a million daydreams spring to life with images of a snowman with funny shaped parts and a well-loved scarf to keep him warm. The feeling of flying as you reach maximum velocity sliding down the steepest hill known to mankind. The shimmer of snow turned to ice on a cold night that lets you open your own diamond store. The smell of exhaust mixed with cold that can only mean a great day of snowmobiling was had. Building the greatest fort ever only find that the kindergarteners ruined it at recess and stole your snow. The rush of jumping into a pile of snow and not being entirely sure of how far you will sink before you stop. Knowing that the coming of the snow means that Christmas is nearing and all the wonderful things that come with it. Family gathers, traditions are preformed, presents all around, songs to be sung, enormous trees, parades, and best of all the smell of your memérè’s cooking floating out from the kitchen.
Snow is just as important up here as the harvest season. Our economy depends of the snowmobilers who come all the way from Massachusetts and farther to sled on our trails. The local stores do great business selling warm clothing for the cold months, so good that they start in August. We have winter fun days, winter carnivals, and snowball dances at school. We teach children how to make snowflakes out of paper to encourage their creativity. We even have our own vocabulary for all things related to snow. For example, it could be light, fluffy, sticky, heavy, powder, crusted, or wet. Then when it falls it could be a dusting, flurries, snowfall, a wintery mix, a storm, a blizzard, or my favorite, a Nor’easter. Our meteorologists have to work overtime in the winter months.
Winter, and all that which it encompasses, is the most important time of the year for those of us who have grown up here in the County. Most of our year is centered around the cold and the snow, either living in it or preparing for it. It is such a large part of our lives that we even have snow days built into our school calendars, and if a year goes by without a snow day we feel righteously betrayed. I’ve seen the black and white photos of older family members cutting ice on the lake, I’ve seen the old snowshoes and skis, and I’ve heard the stories of families huddled around the woodstove for warmth and using snow to make a sugary treat. I could never imagine my life without the winter and the snow to mark the passage of time. What would children do in the winter without the snow banks constructed solely for their benefit? But best of all is seeing all the little children come in from the cold with red noses and cheeks and an enormous smile on their faces.
