“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas. Just like the ones I used to know.”

  • NineMileTower@lemmy.world
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    12 days ago

    Wanna be even more sad?

    It was written by Irving Berlin (the same composer behind “God Bless America”), a Russian-born immigrant who, interestingly enough, did not celebrate Christmas, as he was Jewish. Berlin’s three-week-old son had died on Christmas day in 1928, so every year on December 25, he and his wife visited their baby’s grave. He wrote it in California, seemingly as to why he wished for snow.

    • Captain Poofter@lemmy.world
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      12 days ago

      I read your comment 3 full times and I still don’t understand how anything explains why they wished for a white Christmas.

      Edit: after thinking about this more, this reads like one of those stories that gets passed around without much evidence. It doesn’t really make much sense when compared to the lyrics of the song. 3 weeks is not long enough to establish “just like the ones i used to know”, and if they were jewish and wanted to write a song about remembering their late nights infant child…why be confusing and reference a holiday you don’t even celebrate?

      Here is a sample lyric: “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
      With every Christmas card I write
      May your days be merry and bright
      And may all your Christmases be white”

      This is a regular Christmas song. If anything, it’s simply a coincidence his child died on christmas, and had very little to do with the creation of the song in any way, but gets passed around as for some reason probably just cuz infant death is dramatic. It might sound harsh in 2024, but 100 years ago losing a child at 3 weeks was sadly much more common and likely not as traumatic as we consider it today.

      Edit2: i looked it up on Wikipedia:

      “Accounts vary as to when and where Berlin wrote the song.[7] One story is that he wrote it in 1940, in warm La Quinta, California, while staying at the La Quinta Hotel, a frequent Hollywood retreat also favored by writer-director-producer Frank Capra, although the Arizona Biltmore also claims the song was written there.[8] He often stayed up all night writing. One day he told his secretary, “I want you to take down a song I wrote over the weekend. Not only is it the best song I ever wrote, it’s the best song anybody ever wrote.”[9]”

      The Wikipedia states they had a son who died in infancy, but makes no claims anywhere about it being on Christmas day so who knows about that even.

        • K? K what? The letter before L? The letter after J? Did you know that in JK the K stands for “kidding?” So your reply is “kidding?” or K as in Potassium? Do you need some Special K for breakfast? K as in I can K/O you? Can I knock you out and feed you to hungry sharks? Sharks have a K in it. “K”? Are you fucking kidding me? I spent a decent portion of my life writing all of that and your response to me is “K”? Are you so mentally handicapped that the only letter you can comprehend is “K” - or are you just some fucking asshole who thinks that with such a short response, he can make a statement about how meaningless what was written was? Well, I’ll have you know that what I wrote was NOT meaningless, in fact, I even had my written work proof-read by several professors of literature. Don’t believe me? I doubt you would, and your response to this will probably be “K” once again. Do I give a fuck? No, does it look like I give even the slightest fuck about a single letter? I bet you took the time to type that one letter too, I bet you sat there and chuckled to yourself for 20 hearty seconds before pressing “send”. You’re so fucking pathetic. I’m honestly considering directing you to a psychiatrist, but I’m simply far too nice to do something like that. You, however, will go out of your way to make a fool out of someone by responding to a well-thought-out, intelligent, or humorous statement that probably took longer to write than you can last in bed with a chimpanzee. What do I have to say to you? Absolutely nothing. I couldn’t be bothered to respond to such a worthless attempt at a response. Do you want “K” on your gravestone? Do you want people to remember you as the asshat who one day decided to respond to someone with a single letter? “Hey, look, everybody! It’s that “K” guy!” That’s who you are. You’re going to be known as the “K” guy. How does it feel? Do you feel happy? Quite honestly, I don’t care, which is why I’m not even going to respond to you. Goodbye, and good luck with your future as that guy who said “K”

          • NineMileTower@lemmy.world
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            12 days ago

            K? K what? The letter before L? The letter after J? Did you know that in JK the K stands for “kidding?” So your reply is “kidding?” or K as in Potassium? Do you need some Special K for breakfast? K as in I can K/O you? Can I knock you out and feed you to hungry sharks? Sharks have a K in it. “K”? Are you fucking kidding me? I spent a decent portion of my life writing all of that and your response to me is “K”? Are you so mentally handicapped that the only letter you can comprehend is “K” - or are you just some fucking asshole who thinks that with such a short response, he can make a statement about how meaningless what was written was? Well, I’ll have you know that what I wrote was NOT meaningless, in fact, I even had my written work proof-read by several professors of literature. Don’t believe me? I doubt you would, and your response to this will probably be “K” once again. Do I give a fuck? No, does it look like I give even the slightest fuck about a single letter? I bet you took the time to type that one letter too, I bet you sat there and chuckled to yourself for 20 hearty seconds before pressing “send”. You’re so fucking pathetic. I’m honestly considering directing you to a psychiatrist, but I’m simply far too nice to do something like that. You, however, will go out of your way to make a fool out of someone by responding to a well-thought-out, intelligent, or humorous statement that probably took longer to write than you can last in bed with a chimpanzee. What do I have to say to you? Absolutely nothing. I couldn’t be bothered to respond to such a worthless attempt at a response. Do you want “K” on your gravestone? Do you want people to remember you as the asshat who one day decided to respond to someone with a single letter? “Hey, look, everybody! It’s that “K” guy!” That’s who you are. You’re going to be known as the “K” guy. How does it feel? Do you feel happy? Quite honestly, I don’t care, which is why I’m not even going to respond to you. Goodbye, and good luck with your future as that guy who said “K”

            That’s a nice pasta.

            • What the fuck did you just fucking say about my comment, you little bitch? I’ll have you know I know every pasta in the world and none of them are made of letters on the internet.

              Acini di pepe- Bead-like pasta.

              Agnolotti- Semicircular or square pockets; can be stuffed with ricotta, a mix of cheese and meats (agnolotti di grasso), or pureed vegetables (agnolotti di magro).

              Anelli- Short tubular, or annular-shaped, pasta sometimes with ridges on the inside or outside.

              Anellini- Smaller version of anelli.

              Barbina- Thin strands, often coiled into nests.

              Bavette- Narrower version of tagliatelle.

              Bigoli- Thick, softer, spaghetti-like pasta. Made with whole wheat rather than durum. Sometimes made with duck egg.

              Boccoli- Short, thick twisted shape.

              Bucatini- Thick spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the center.

              Busiate (or busiati)- Type of long macaroni. Often coiled around a twig of local weed.

              Caccavelle- Large bowl-like pasta intended for stuffing.

              Calamarata- Wide ring shaped pasta.

              Campanelle or torchio- Flattened bell-shaped pasta with a frilly edge on one end.

              Cannelloni- Rolls of pasta with various fillings, usually cooked in an oven.

              Capellini- Very thin spaghetti, often coiled into nests. Capelli d’angelo are slightly thinner.

              Cappelletti- Squares of dough filled with minced meat and closed to form a triangle.

              Cappelli da chef- Extruded pasta that looks like a chef’s hat.

              Caramelle- A stuffed pasta resembling double twist candies.

              Casarecce- Short lengths extruded into a S shape.

              Casoncelli- A stuffed pasta with various fillings.

              Castellane- Shell pasta coiled into a conical shape.

              Casunziei- A stuffed pasta with various fillings.

              Cavatappi- Corkscrew-shaped macaroni.

              Cavatelli- Short, solid lengths. Exist in three size, usually measured in fingers (one, two or three).

              Cencioni- Petal shaped, slightly curved with rough convex side.

              Chifferi- Short and wide macaroni. Can be smooth (lisce) or furrowed (rigati).

              Cicioneddos- Hand-rolled, shell-shaped pasta that are smaller than malloreddus.

              Conchiglie- Seashell shaped, usually furrowed (rigate).

              Conchigliette- Small shell-shaped pasta.

              Conchiglioni- Large, stuffable seashell shaped.

              Corallini- Small short tubes of pasta.

              Corzetti- Flat figure-eight stamped from Liguria.

              Creste di galli- Short, curved, and ruffled.

              Culurgiones- A stuffed pasta typical with a filling of potato and mint.

              Ditali- Short tubes whose diameter is roughly the same as their length. Can be lisci or rigati.

              Egg barley- Pasta but its an egg.

              Fagioloni- Short narrow tube.

              Fagottini- A ‘purse’ or bundle of pasta, made from a round of dough gathered into a ball-shaped bundle, often stuffed with ricotta and fresh pear.

              Fainelle- Flat strascinato that vaguely resembles carob.

              Farfalle- Bow tie or butterfly shaped.

              Farfalline- Small bow tie-shaped pasta.

              Fazzoletti- Thin rectangles or squares of pasta.

              Fedelini- Very thin spaghetti.

              Ferrazuoli- Similar to a twisted buccato with a cleft running on the side.

              Festoni- Thick ruffled helices.

              Fettuccine- Ribbon of pasta approximately . millimeters wide. Larger and thicker than tagliatelle.

              Fideos- Pasta prepared with eggs, flour and water.

              Fileja- Elongated screw.

              Filini- Smaller version of fideos, about 12-15 mm long before cooking.

              Fiorentine- Grooved cut tubes.

              Fiori- Shaped like a flower.

              Foglie d’ulivo- Shaped like an olive leaf.

              Fregula- Bead-like pasta from Sardinia. Slightly toasted due to drying process.

              Funghini- Small mushroom-shaped pasta.

              Fusilli bucati- A hollow version of Fusilli.

              Fusilli- Long, thick, corkscrew-shaped pasta that may be solid or hollow.

              Garganelli- Egg pasta in a square shape rolled into a tube.

              Gemelli- A single S-shaped strand of pasta twisted in a loose spiral.

              Gnocchi- Lobed shells. Not to be confused with gnocchi dumplings.

              Gomiti- Elbow maccheroni, furrowed.

              Gramigne- Short curled lengths of pasta. Spaccatelle are larger.

              Grattini- Small granular, irregular shaped pasta (smaller version then Grattoni).

              Grattoni- Large granular, irregular shaped pasta.

              Kusksu- Peppercorn-like shaped pasta, which is “a little bigger than a coriander”, used in a traditional Maltese soup which bears its name. The kusksu pasta is “not to be confused with couscous”.

              Lagane- Wide pasta.

              Lanterne- Curved ridges.

              Lasagna- Square or rectangle sheets of pasta that sometimes have fluted edges (lasagne ricce). The square of pasta is lasagna while the dish is lasagne.

              Lasagnette- Narrower version of Lasagna.

              Lasagnotte- Longer version of Lasagna.

              Linguine- Flattened spaghetti.

              Lorighittas- Strands of pasta rolled twice around three fingers to form a ring, and then twisted to look like a rope.

              Lumache- Snailshell-shaped pieces. Larger than gomiti or pipe.

              Maccheroncelli- Hollow tube-shaped pasta that is slightly smaller than a pencil in thickness.

              Maccheroncini di Campofilone- Thin strands of egg-based pasta. Similar to Capelli d’angelo.

              Maccheroni alla molinara- Very thick, long, hand-pulled pasta.

              Maccheroni- Tubes, either bent or straight.

              Mafalde- Long rectangular ribbons with ruffled sides.

              Mafaldine- Short ribbons with ruffled sides.

              Malloreddus- Hand-rolled, shell-shaped pasta.

              Maltagliati- Irregular shapes of flat pasta formed from scraps of pasta production.

              Mandala- Designed by Philippe Starck in for French pasta maker Panzani, intended to compensate for overcooking.

              Marille- Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in – like a rolling ocean wave in cross-section with internal rugosities, but unsuccessful and no longer produced.

              Matriciani- Similar to perciatelli, but folded over rather than hollowed out.

              Mezzani- Short curved tube.

              Mezze maniche- About half the length of rigatoni.

              Mezze penne- Short version of penne.

              Mezzelune- Semicircular pockets about 2.5 in. diameter.

              Mezzi bombardoni- Wide short tubes.

              Midolline- Flat teardrop shaped pasta (similar to Orzo but wider).

              Nuvole- Short coiled pasta.

              Occhi di lupo- Large, stuffed, penne-shaped pasta.

              Occhi di pernice- Very small rings of pasta.

              Orecchiette- Irregular disc with a central dome and a slightly thicker crown. Strascinate are identical but flat.

              Orzo- Rice shaped pasta. Risoni are slightly bigger.

              Paccheri- Large tube pasta often topped with sauce or stuffed with ingredients. May collapse under own weight when cooking.

              Pansotti-Triangular shape with a bulging center, does not contain meat.

              Pappardelle- Thick flat ribbons of egg-based dough.

              Passatelli- Made from bread crumbs, eggs, grated Parmesan cheese, lemon, and nutmeg, and cooked in chicken broth.

              Pasta al ceppo- Sheet pasta that is similar in shape to a cinnamon stick.

              Pastina- Although pastina is the name for an entire family of miniature pasta shapes, it is also used to describe the most basic one in this family – small spheres, smaller than acini di pepe.

              Penne- Medium length tubes with ridges, cut diagonally at both ends. They can be either lisce (smooth) or rigate (grooved). Mostaccioli is also sometimes used for Barilla products, pennette have a shorter length and pennoni are wider and thicker.

              Penne ricce- Curled penne variant, usually grooved.

              Perciatelli- Identical to bucatini.

              Picchiarelli- Slightly longer than cavatelli.

              Pici- Very thick, irregular and long, hand-rolled pasta.

              Pillus- Very thin ribbons cooked in beef broth.

              Piombi- Spheres slightly larger than acini di pepe.

              Pipe rigate- Very similar to Lumaconi but smaller has lines running the length of it.

              Pizzoccheri- A type of short tagliatelle, a flat ribbon pasta, made with buckwheat flour: the lack of gluten makes them hard to manipulate.

              Puntine- Smaller version of Risi.

              Quadrefiore- Square with rippled edges.

              Quadrettini- Small flat squares of pasta.

              Radiatori- Shaped like radiators, they were created between the First and Second World Wars. They are often used in similar dishes as rotelle or fusilli because their shape works well with thicker sauces.

              Ravioli- Two squares of pasta on top of another, stuffed with cheese, ground meat, pureed vegetables, or mixtures thereof.

              Riccioli- Hollow cut with cylindrical ridges.

              Ricciolini- Short wide pasta with a 90-degree twist.

              Ricciutelle- Short spiralled pasta.

              Rigatoncini- Smaller version of rigatoni.

              Rigatoni- Medium-Large tube with square-cut ends, sometimes slightly curved. Always grooved, and straight or bent depending on extrusion method.

              Rombi- Rhombus-shaped ribbons.

              Rotelle- Wagon wheel-shaped pasta.

              Rotolo ripieno- A rolled pasta with filling; cooked roll is normally sliced, covered in sauce and broiled in the oven.

              Rustiche- Serrated ribbons.

              Sacchettoni- Round, similar to fagottini, but also may use ravioli stuffing. A small square of pasta brought around the stuffing and twisted.

              Sagnarelli- Rectangular ribbons with fluted edges.

              Sagne’ncannulate- Long tube formed of twisted ribbon.

              Sagnette- Short thick ribbons from Abruzzo and Molise. Also called sagne or tagliolini.

              Scialatelli or scialatielli- Short, flat ribbons.

              Sedani- Slightly larger than maccheroni with a similar slight bend. Can be smooth (lisce) or furrowed (rigati).

              Sorprese- Small bell shaped pasta with a ruffled edge and a crease on one side. Can be ridged or smooth (lisce).

              Spaghetti- A long, thin, cylindrical pasta of Italian origin, made of semolina or flour and water. Spaghettini and spaghettoni are slightly thinner or thicker, respectively.

              • Spaghetti alla chitarra- Square spaghetti, made of egg and flour.

                Spaghettini- A slightly thinner version of spaghetti.

                Spaghettoni- A slightly thicker version of spaghetti.

                Spirali- Spiraled tubes.

                Spiralini (Scharfalini)- Tightly coiled spirali.

                Stelle- Small star-shaped pasta.

                Stortini- Smaller version of elbow macaroni.

                Strapponi- Strips of pasta ripped from a sheet.

                Stringozzi- Similar to shoelaces.

                Strozzapreti- Rolled across their width. Similar to Sicilian casarecce.

                Su Filindeu- Extremely rare pasta, made of equal strands of thinly pulled and folded dough and laid in the sun to dry.

                Tagliatelle- Ribbons of egg-based pasta. Generally narrower than fettuccine.

                Taglierini- Thinner version of tagliatelle.

                Testaroli- Looks like testicles.

                Tortelli del Mugello- Potato-filled pasta.

                Tortelli- Square sheet of pasta folded into a triangle or discus folded into half-circle, with both extremities subsequently joined to form a ring shape. About 30x35 mm in size. Sweet variations can be found (tortelli cremaschi).

                Tortellini- Ring-shaped, usually stuffed with a mixture of meat and cheese. About 25x20 mm in size.

                Tortelloni- Round or rectangular, similar to tortelli but larger (38x45 mm). Stuffing usually does not include meat.

                Tortiglioni- Larger tubes than rigatoni, the grooves are also deeper and spiral around the pasta.

                Treccioni- Coiled pasta.

                Trenette- Thin ribbon ridged on one side. Slightly thicker than linguine.

                Trenne- Penne shaped as a triangle.

                Tripoline- Thick ribbon ridged on one side.

                Tripolini- In larger varieties these are sometimes called farfalle tonde. Small bow tie-shaped pasta with rounded edges.

                Trofie- Thin twisted pasta made of durum wheat and water.

                Tuffoli- Ridged rigatoni.

                Vermicelli- A traditional pasta round that is thinner than spaghetti.

                Vesuvio- Corkscrew-shaped pasta.

                Ziti- Long, narrow hose-like tubes larger than mezzani (also called mezzi ziti) or bucatini that are traditionally broken before being put to cook. Ziti candelati are longer, zitoni a bit larger

  • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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    12 days ago

    “Over the river and through the wood” was published in 1844 and depicted needing a sleigh to visit grandmother’s house on Thanksgiving.

    By the 1950s snow in Vermont on Christmas was something you dreamed of.

  • Rikudou_Sage@lemmings.world
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    12 days ago

    Don’t know where you live, but where I live it’s been the case for ~17 years since last Christmas Eve with snow.

  • illi@lemm.ee
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    12 days ago

    Past few years it was kinda foggy here on Christmas. I like the fog, especially with the Christmas lights - and fog is white so I take what I can get