Well it's not just habit it's also machines and security... Schools do close down over here too and we have 5 winter months each year. It's not a question of "it's bad the economy" and bla bla bla, it's also a question of security. You don't have many heavy machines to take care of the roads, airports and trains in england, people do not have snow tires, electricity is alway in high demand in winter so sometimes there are blackouts. We need 136 M$ in Montreal ALONE to take care of the snow... Just relax a bit and enjoy the little snow that you have in england... By the way I'm not saying that it's not annoying. Last year I took a train from Montreal to Toronto during a heavy snow storm and sometimes we had to stop with no lights on. It's suposed to take 5-6 hours it took us 9... We are really lucky for the airport tho. EDIT: I forgot to add: People love a bit of drama don't they? So they panic