AILSA CHANG, HOST:
As we get closer and closer to December 25, most of the country might start dreaming of a white Christmas. That includes the Deep South, where they basically have no chance of this. So what's with the obsession that some Southerners have with snow? Well, Melanie Peeples takes us to Birmingham, Alabama, where she tried to find the answer.
MELANIE PEEPLES, BYLINE: Every year, it's the same. December rolls around and bam - we collectively lose our minds and start thinking about snow. Shopping malls like this one in Birmingham bring in snow machines that blow soapsuds in the air.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Oh, look at it.
PEEPLES: Kids smile and twirl around in it, but they know it's not real.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHITE CHRISTMAS")
BING CROSBY: (Singing) I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.
PEEPLES: Dreaming is the best we can do...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHITE CHRISTMAS")
CROSBY: (Singing) Just like the ones I used to know.
PEEPLES: ...Because most of us in the South have not known a white Christmas.
(SOUNDBITE OF FRANK SINATRA SONG, "JINGLE BELLS")
PEEPLES: Why are there so many Christmas songs about the weather?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "JINGLE BELLS")
FRANK SINATRA: (Singing) Dashing through the snow. Rudolph. In a one-horse open sleigh. Today. Oe'r the fields we go. Rudolph. Laughing all the way. Today.
PEEPLES: Nope, no bells on bobtails here, yet we're all obsessed with snow. Maybe blame the music industry.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WINTER WONDERLAND")
MICHAEL BUBLE: (Singing) In the meadow we can build a snowman. We'll pretend that he is Parson Brown.
PEEPLES: Pretend is all Southerners can do. Even meteorologists like John Oldshue of the Alabama Weather Network.
JOHN OLDSHUE: Oh, I have dreamed for a white Christmas I think since the day I was born. I'm the biggest snow fan there is.
PEEPLES: But we are not going to get it.
OLDSHUE: Yeah, the odds are just against us.
PEEPLES: According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. as a whole has only a 38% chance of snow on Christmas Day, and that drops to pretty much zero for the Deep South. And yet this fascination persists. Maybe blame Hollywood. Who can forget the sound of Jimmy Stewart running through the snow in "It's A Wonderful Life"?
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE")
JIMMY STEWART: (As George Bailey) Merry Christmas.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR # 1: (As character) Merry Christmas, George.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR # 2: (As character) Merry Christmas.
PEEPLES: After a while, you start to feel left out.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SNOW")
ROSEMARY CLOONEY AND TRUDY STEVENS: (As Betty Haynes and Judy Haynes, singing) What is Christmas with no snow?
CROSBY: (As Bob Wallace, singing) No white Christmas with no...
DANNY KAYE: (As Phil Davis, singing) No...
BING CROSBY AND TRUDY STEVENS: (As Bob Wallace and Judy Haynes, singing) Snow.
ROSEMARY CLOONEY: (As Betty Haynes, singing) Snow.
BING CROSBY, DANNY KAYE, TRUDY STEVENS AND ROSEMARY CLOONEY: (As Bob Wallace, Phil Davis, Judy Haynes and Betty Haynes, singing) Snow.
PEEPLES: It's like being hypnotized.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SNOW")
CROSBY: (As Bob Wallace, singing) Snow.
KAYE: (As Phil Davis, singing) Snow.
TRUDY STEVENS: (As Judy Haynes, singing) Snow.
CLOONEY: (As Betty Haynes, singing) Snow.
CROSBY, KAYE, STEVENS AND CLOONEY: (As Bob Wallace, Phil Davis, Judy Haynes and Betty Haynes, singing) Snow.
PEEPLES: Even the band Alabama falls under the spell.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHRISTMAS IN DIXIE")
ALABAMA: (Singing) Christmas in Dixie. It's snowing in the pines.
PEEPLES: No, it's not. It's not snowing in the pines here. At least the song mentions other low-snow cities like Jackson, Memphis and Atlanta. So it's going to have to do.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHRISTMAS IN DIXIE")
ALABAMA: (Singing) And from Fort Payne, Alabama.
PEEPLES: And from Birmingham, Alabama.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHRISTMAS IN DIXIE")
ALABAMA: (Singing) Merry Christmas tonight.
PEEPLES: For NPR News, I'm Melanie Peeples.
(SOUNDBITE OF CODY FRANCIS' "MOUNTAIN AIR") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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