It WAS all white on the night
... and in the morning, as thousands enjoyed picture-postcard snow for Christmas Day
THE dream of a white Christmas came true yesterday when parts of Scotland woke to a covering of snow.
From Shetland down through Aberdeenshire and as far south as the Borders, an overnight drop in temperature meant that yesterday began with a truly festive feel.
As though designed to make the big day as magical as possible, the ground was blanketed in sparkling white.
The village of Braemar was transformed into a scene from a Christmas card, as the snow – in a fair approximation of the popular carol – lay round about, not particularly deep but certainly crisp and even.
And as delighted children interrupted their festivities to build snowmen and start snowball
‘Two official measuring stations detected snow’
fights, the Met Office was quick to declare an official white Christmas.
For drivers heading to Christmas Day visits, the snow meant digging their cars out and scraping windscreens.
The festive snowfall had been widely expected and, by the end of last week, bookmakers had begun shortening odds to the point when they predicted snow was odds-on in Aberdeen.
STV weatherman Sean Batty had forecast snow in the Northern Isles and yesterday he took to Twitter to welcome the wintry weather.
He wrote: ‘Looks like parts of Aberdeenshire are the first spots to record a white Christmas, with light snow currently falling in Aboyne.’
The Met Office declared it a white Christmas because two official measuring stations in Scotland detected snow falling – at Aboyne in Aberdeenshire and Baltasound on Shetland.
White Christmases were more frequent in the 18th and 19th Centuries, especially before the change of calendar in 1752 which effectively brought Christmas Day forward by 12 days, from January into December – when the likelihood of snow is less. Climate change has also brought higher average temperatures, reducing the chance of snow on Christmas Day.
Meanwhile, the Central Belt enjoyed a dry and bright Christmas Day with plenty of sunshine. Across the country swimmers headed to the coast, braving the cold water to take a dip. Donning a variety of Christmas-themed attire, humans and pets braved the cold waters.
Congregating at Portobello beach in Edinburgh, swimmers wore elf costumes and tutus, and a group of women braved the water together, holding hands as they went in.
Meanwhile some families missed the weather as they welcomed Christmas babies.
Oliver Fox was the first in Scotland to be born on December 25, at 12.45am at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, to Emma Gearey, weighing 7lbs 2oz.