Needless to say, today is the first day of a very busy month. December is filled with holiday activities and I’m sure, if your body could stand it, every evening would be filled with activities.
December is the 12th (and last) month in our modern-day Gregorian calendar — and in the preceding Julian calendar. But it was the 10th month of the Roman calendar, so “December” comes from the Latin word decem, meaning “ten.” December originally consisted of 30 days. When January and February were added to the calendar, December was shortened to 29 days. Then, when the Julian calendar was adopted, two days were added to December, making it 31 days long.
Besides the obvious Christmas and New Year’s Eve holidays, Decemer happenings include Saint Nicholas Day, National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, St. Lucia’s Day, Bill of Rights Day, Wright Brothers Day, Hanukkah, and Boxing Day as well as the Winter Solstice and the first day of Kwanzaa.
The shortest day of the year (the one with the least amount of daylight) occurs on December 21, the Winter Solstice and first day of winter.
The full Moon for December appears on December 7 and known as the full Cold Moon.
An old almanac prediction states that if snow falls on Christmas Day, Easter will be warm, green and sunny.
The term Yuletide comes from a Norse tradition of cutting and burning a tree to bring in the Winter Solstice. This was to last through 12 days — later known as the 12 days of Christmas.
Saint Nicholas, who would eventually be called Santa Claus, was originally the patron saint of Children, thieves and pawnbrokers
December 28th is considered by some to be the unluckiest day of the year.
The first artificial Christmas tree was made in Germany, fashioned out of goose feathers that were dyed green
Spiders and spider webs are considered good luck on Christmas.
Common decorations found on Christmas trees, have specific meanings… candles — the light of the world, the Star at the top is a reminder of the first Christmas night and candy canes represent the Shepherd’s cane.
So…..
Welcome December.
New month, new chapter, new page & new wishes.
May the month give you courage, strength, confidence, patience, and peace.
May every day in December be filled with hope, love, sunshine, and energy.
Let there be joy, fun, and laughter.
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