How snow scared Italians

Polar cold has approached and terrorize Italy!!!

Well, some snow has fallen in some highland parts of Italy, temperature has fallen below zero. Roads are difficult to go, cars are without winter tyres so are dancing on the roads like cows on the ice, schools are closed etc. All TV news programmes have what to talk, what to show... Mamma mia!

I'm looking at that and remembering winter in Lithuania. Snow? If it's winter it should be snowing. The more snow the better. Freezing? Yes, that's the whole fun! Schools closed? Only when the temperature falls bellow -25C°. When I was a kid, I remember checking the radio every early winter morning hoping to hear that today I could stay at home... Well, that happy day was once or twice...

Why this "snow" thing is so different for these two countries? Italians aren't used to that? Aren't prepared? Landscape (mountains) makes it more difficult to fight against the snow? Yeah, most likely... But for example here, near the sea, we had some rain and it's around +2C°. When I was back to Lithuania hearing this I would say "Gosh, well this is not cold at all!". But beeing here I agree with everyone complaining and say "Cold!.." Maybe because of the humid weather. Maybe because it's winter and if now we don't say that it's cold, when will we have another opportunity to use that word?

By the way, in Italian "caldo" means "hot". It took me some time to get used to this strange similarity...:)