December Teachable Moments, - Using Posters to Educate

For people living in the northern hemisphere of planet Earth, December is the time of the Winter solstice. In the southern hemisphere the seasons are reversed: December is Summer and June is Winter.

Events associated with December are religious holidays celebrating hope and birth as the sun appears to climb back up in the sky, most prominently Christmas.

The colors most often associated with December are white, and Christmas red and green. White symbolizes both snow and the purity of Christ; red represents the future shedding of Christ's blood, and green the hope that spring will return.

Holly with its red berries is one of December's flowers; legend has it that the evergreen holly leaves hid the Holy Family from Herod's soldiers. Mistletoe is another plant associated with Christmas, as are paper white narcissus and poinsettia.

Sagittarius, The Archer: Nov 22 - Dec 21
mutable, fire, universal; “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, adventurous, blundering, wanderlust, scattered, hips/thighs; free, straightforward, careless.

Capricorn, The Goat: Dec 22 - Jan 19
cardinal, earth, universal; “I build,” ambitious, cautious, authoritative, cunning, competent, stable, saturnine, knees/skeleton; prudent, cautious, suspicious.

• Turquoise is the traditional birthstone of December, signifies good fortune, success.
• Blue Topaz and zircons are modern alternative birthstones of December.