Every year during the festive season we hear the crooning voice of Bing Crosby and Michael Bublé sing that they are dreaming of a ‘white Christmas’.
However, how many times does this wish come true?
According to Met Office, white Christmas means that ‘one snowflake has been observed falling during the 24 hour period of 25/12/25 in the UK.
The year was a success as many families from Scotland and Northern England were greeted with a white Christmas Day.
On Christmas Day, Braemar was snow-covered in Aberdeenshire (pictured).
Braemar is pictured at 1,112ft (339m), above sea level in Scotland Highlands. The thick snow covered Braemar’s centre, where the Fife Arms Hotel looks picture perfect
Some parts of the UK celebrated Christmas with a snow blanket. Pictured, snow in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Forecasters issued an advisory for cold weather, which saw temperatures drop to zero in the Pennines and Scottish Highlands.
Braemar is one of Britain’s most high towns at an elevation 1,110 feet (339m). These photos show that Scotland was covered in snow.
A Met spokesperson stated that the two locations were Aboyne (in Aberdeenshire) and Baltasound (in Shetland).
“Both those stations reported snow on the 25th of December – that is all it takes to tell us there was a white Christmas.
Boxing Day, a woman riding a horse along sand roads near Castleside in County Durham
“As Boxing Day approached, snow fell in the Pennines as well as parts of Dumfies-Galloway.
The team also stated that there might be additional weather websites reporting Christmas Day snow once all employees are back at work.
Boxing Day also saw up to four inches of snow fall on top of high ground as some areas of the country became a frozen wonderland.
The Peak District was hit with heavy flurries that brought down snow in the southern parts of Scotland, Durham, Northumberland and Yorkshire.
The Met used to define a white Christmas with a single location in the country, which was the Met Office in London, but this has since opened up to numerous sites including Buckingham Palace, Belfast (Aldergrove Airport), Aberdeen (Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen FC), Edinburgh (Castle), Coronation Street in Manchester and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
On December 18, 2010, the statue of Winston Churchill, ex-Prime Minister of Britain, is covered in snow at Parliament Square in central London.
A sheep stands in a snow covered field on December 22, 2010 near Slaithwaite, England
Christmas 18, 2009: People walk in the snow of Knole park Sevenoaks, Kent
Technically, we also had a white Christmas in 2013. The Met reported last year that 6 percent of meteor stations observed snow falling and 4% saw snow on the ground.
However, since 1960 cases of snow blanketing the ground during Christmas Day has been only four times recorded by the Met. This is defined as when over 40% of UK stations reported snow at 9am.
In 2010, this happened for the first time. The last time this happened was in 2010.
In 2009, there was also a wide-spread white Christmas. More than half (57%) of the stations reported snow on the ground while 13% reported snow falling or sleet.
The same thing happened in 1981, 1995, and 1981.
The Met stated that more than half the Christmas Days can be expected to be white, but widespread snow is uncommon.
According to the Met Office, it is likely that the climate crisis and rising temperatures will reduce the chance of white Christmases. However, this cannot be predicted for each year.
MailOnline spoke to her, saying that despite the fact that large-scale and severe snow events were recorded in 2013, 2010, and 2009, they have declined in number since 1960.
On December 1, 2010, cars and lorries were seen driving along the snow-covered M25 in Kent in south-east England.
A man walks in the snow on December 29, 2020 in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, England
A lady walks in the snow past Silverdale Church on December 29, 2020 in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, England
Queen’s Wood, December 26, 2010, shows snow-covered fields north of Cheltenham
“This does not preclude the possibility of cold spells that could include snow from the future. But, while we cannot foresee whether it will, or won’t, snow on any December 25th year in the years ahead, it seems more likely.
In 2018 and 2019, there was no snowfall at any station.
One-fifth of 2017’s weather stations reported snowfall but no settling.
Christmas Day in Windrush valley at Widford in 2010. In 2010, 83% of the stations in the Windrush valley at Widford reported snow. 19% of the stations also reported snow.
Carshalton Beeches (England) – December 18, 2009. Snow covered cars
After heavy snowfalls on December 18th 2009, many flights were postponed or delayed and passengers struggle to find their luggage at Luton Airport in London.
An English horse poses in the snow covered South Downs National Park field on December 18, 2009. It is near Coldharbour.
The Gilroy Family from Strathaven, making use of the snow for backcountry ski in December 2020
Un council worker, December 18, 2010, gritting the Aberystwyth promenade
This was also true in 2015 and 2016 where respectively 6% and 10% recorded falling snow.
According to the Met website, snow and sleet falls on average every 3.9 days in December in Britain, as opposed to 5.3 days per month in January, 5.6 days per February, and 4.2 days per month in March.
Over the past 52 years, 38 snowflakes have fallen in the UK on Christmas Day.