For the old year lies a-dying.
Old year you must not die;
You came to us so readily,
You lived with us so steadily,
Old year you shall not die."
-   Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Death of the Old Year

 

 

"Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat.
Please put a penny in the old man's hat.
If you haven't got a penny, a half penny will do.
If you haven't got a half penny, then God bless you."  
-   Traditional English Christmas rhyme

 

 

"Shivering--
grey clouds darken
mountain snow."
-   Michael P. Garofalo, Cuttings

 

 

"At the bad time, nothing betrays outwardly the harsh findings,
The studies and hospital records. Carols play.

Sitting upright in the transit system, the widow-like women
Wait, hands folded in their laps, as monumental as bread.

In the shopping center lots, lights mounted on cold standards
Tower and stir, condensing the blue vapour

Of the stars; between the rows of cars people in coats walk
Bundling packages in their arms or holding the hands of children.

Across the highway, where a town thickens by the tracks
With stores open late and creches in front of the churches,

Even in the bars a businesslike set of the face keeps off
The nostalgic pitfall of the carols, tugging. In bed,

How low and still the people lie, some awake, holding the carols
Consciously at bay, Oh Little Town, enveloped in unease."
-   Robert Pinsky, December Blues

 

 

Winter Poems Selected by Barbara Rogansky

A Mind of Winter: Poems for a Snowy Season Selected by Robert Atwan

Winter: A Spiritual Biography of the Season Edited by Gary Schmidt

Poetry for the Winter Season Selected by Christina Hardyment

In Celebration of Winter: A Book of Seasonal Indulgences by Helen Thompson 

The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice Selected by Carolyn Edwards

While the Bear Sleeps: Winter Tales and Traditions by Caitlin Matthews

 

 

 

"This is what I have heard
at last the wind in December
lashing the old trees with rain
unseen rain racing along the tiles
under the moon
wind rising and falling
wind with many clouds
trees in the night wind."
-   W. S. Merwin 

 

 

"Give me the end of the year an' its fun
When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin' with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers."
-   Edgar A. Guest, Thanksgiving

 

 

"Good husband and housewife, now chiefly be glad,
Things handsome to have, as they ought to be had.
They both do provide, against Christmas do come,
To welcome their neighbors, good cheer to have some.

Good bread and good drink, a good fire in the hall,
Brawn, pudding, and souse, and good mustard withal.
Beef, mutton, and pork, and good pies of the best,
Pig, veal, goose, and capon, and turkey well drest,
Cheese, apples and nuts, and good carols to hear,
As then in the country is counted good cheer.

What cost to good husband, is any of this?
Good household provision only it is:
Of other the like, I do leave out a many,
That costeth the husband never a penny." 
-   Thomas Tusser, Christmas Cheer

 

 

 

Seeds and Cuttings

Hydrofarm Hot House Seed Starter 11-by-22-Inch   

Secrets of Plant Propagation: Starting Your Own Flowers, Vegetables, Fruits, Shrubs, and Trees 

Hydrofarm Jump Start Indoor Grow Light System 

Plant Propagation A to Z: Growing Plants for Free  

Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners  

Hydrofarm Germination Station with Heat Mat  

American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual    

Burpee Seed Starter: A Guide to Growing Flower, Vegetable, and Herb Seeds Indoors and Outdoors

Plant Propagator's Bible

The New Seed Starter's Handbook

RION MLT3 Mini Lean-To Greenhouse

Seed Sowing and Saving: Step-by-Step Techniques for Collecting and Growing  

Saving Seeds: The Gardener's Guide to Growing and Storing Vegetable and Flower Seeds

Seed Sowing and Saving: Step-by-Step Techniques for Collecting and Growing More Than 100 Vegetables, Flowers, and Herbs

 

                                    

 

 

 

"The autumn air is clear,
The autumn moon is bright.
Fallen leaves gather and scatter,
The jackdaw perches and starts anew.
We think of each other- when will we meet?
This hour, this night, my feelings are hard."
-   Li Bai, Autumn Air  

 

 

"How bittersweet it is, on winter's night,
To listen, by the sputtering, smoking fire,
As distant memories, through the fog-dimmed light,
Rise, to the muffled chime of churchbell choir." 
-   Charles Baudelaire, The Cracked Bell 

 

 

Christmas, Yuletide, Winter Solstice: Bibliography, Links, Lore, Poems, Prayers, Preparations, Crafts, Rituals, Quotes      

 

 

"Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in."
-   Alfred Lord Tennyson, Ring Out, Wild Bells

 

 

"A full moon shines
over the morning frost;
the lanes are full of late-fallen leaves;
walking across the mulch
is almost as tricky
as treading over ice.

In town the carol-singers are in
crowding the shopping-mall,
while a group of muffled musicians
play by the outside market.

This year but two robins
on the early Christmas cards;
the squirrel still runs along the fence
skirting our newly-erected shed."
-   Gerald England, Mid-December, Famous Poets  

 

 

"The Winter Solstice, also known as Midwinter, occurs around December 21 or 22 each year in the Northern hemisphere, and June 20 or 21 in the Southern Hemisphere. It occurs on the shortest day or longest night of the year, sometimes said to astronomically mark the beginning or middle of a hemisphere's winter. The word solstice derives from Latin, Winter Solstice meaning Sun set still in winter. Worldwide, interpretation of the event varies from culture to culture, but most hold a recognition of rebirth, involving festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations. Many cultures celebrate or celebrated a holiday near the winter solstice; examples of these include Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years, Pongal, Yalda and many other festivals of light. The solstice itself may have remained a special moment of the annual cycle of the year since neolithic times. This is attested by physical remains in the layouts of late Neolithic and Bronze Age archeological sites like Stonehenge and New Grange in the British Isles. The primary axes of both of these monuments seem to have been carefully aligned on a sight-line framing the winter solstice sunrise (New Grange) and the winter solstice sunset (Stonehenge). The winter solstice may have been immensely important because communities were not assured to live through the winter, and had to be prepared during the previous nine months. Starvation was common in winter between January to April, also known as the famine months. In temperate climes, the midwinter festival was the last feast celebration, before deep winter began. Most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter, so it was nearly the only time of year when a supply of fresh meat was available. The majority of wine and beer made during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking at this time. The concentration of the observances were not always on the day commencing at midnight or at dawn, but the beginning of the pre-Romanized day, which falls on the previous eve."
-   Winter Solstice - Wikipedia

 

 

"Lighting one candle
from another -
Winter night"
-   Buson

 

 

"The vineyard country, russet, reddish, carmine-brown in this season.
A blue outline of hills above a fertile valley.
It's warm as long as the sun does not set, in the shade cold returns.
A strong sauna and then swimming in a pool surrounded by trees.
Dark redwoods, transparent pale-leved birches.
In their delicate network, a sliver of the moon.
I describe this for I have learned to doubt philosophy
And the visible world is all that remains."
-   Czeslaw Milosz, December 1st 

 

 

"You darkness, that I come from,
I love you more than all the fires
that fence in the world,
for the fire makes
a circle of light for everyone,
and then no one outside learns of you.

But the darkness pulls in everything;
shapes and fires, animals and myself,
how easily it gathers them!—
powers and people—
and it is possible a great energy
is moving near me.
I have faith in nights."
-  Rainer Maria Rilke, On Darkness

 

"When cold December
Froze to grisamber
The jangling bells on the sweet rose-trees--
Then fading slow
And furred is the snow
As the almond's sweet husk--
And smelling like musk.
The snow amygdaline
Under the eglantine
Where the bristling stars shine
Like a gilt porcupine--
The snow confesses
The little Princesses
On their small chioppines
Dance under the orpines.
See the casuistries
Of their slant fluttering eyes--
Gilt as the zodiac
(Dancing Herodiac).
Only the snow slides
Like gilded myrrh--
From the rose-branches--hides
Rose-roots that stir."
-   Dame Edith Sitwell, When Cold December   

 

 

"Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,
With a corncob pipe and a button nose
and two eyes made out of coal.
Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say,
He was made of snow but the children
know how he came to life one day."
-  Christmas Carol

 

 

"Christmas is a time of little time.
How we get there is a mystery.
Racing madly mall-to-mall, we climb
Into fields of sunlit harmony.
Shopping, cooking, clearing walks and yards,
Trimming house and tree while working, too;
Making phone calls, wrapping, writing cards,
As all worn out we do what we must do
So that this day of joy might joy renew."
-  Nicholas Gordon 

 

 

 

 

Months and Seasons Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations Information, Weather, Gardening Chores Compiled by Mike Garofalo
Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
January	April	July	October
February	May	August	November
March	June	September	December

 

 

 

 

"Each Christmas I remember
The ones of long ago;
I see our mantelpiece adorned
With stockings in a row.

Each Christmas finds me dreaming
Of days that used to be,
When we hid presents here and there,
For all the family.

Each Christmas I remember
The fragrance in the air,
Of roasting turkey and mince pies
And cookies everywhere.

Each Christmas finds me longing
For Christmases now past,
And I am back in childhood
As long as memories last."
-   Carice Williams, Christmas Past 

 

 

"I have often thought, it happens very well that Christmas should fall out in the Middle of Winter."
-  Joseph Addison

 

 

"The snow is lying very deep.
My house is sheltered from the blast.
I hear each muffled step outside,
I hear each voice go past.
But I'll not venture in the drift
Out of this bright security,
Till enough footsteps come and go
To make a path for me."
-   Agnes Lee

 

 

"The leaves drift toward the earth like ships to land, 
A voyage launched from timbers' great lofty berths, 
Toward harbors safe, concealed from raider bands, 
Of icy galleons coursing wintry dearth. 
Squirrels don thick coats against Wind's numbing dare, 
Mount last determined searches 'long the ground. 
Brown grass conceals the season's paltry fare, 
As hopeful birds scratch for what may be found. 
Through frosted windows glow the hearth's warm light, 
As fading day casts shadows 'cross the lawn, 
And grey meets grey as winter gathers might, 
Undaunted as the chimney starts to yawn. 
Farewell brave day as twilight draweth nigh. 
Perchance on morrow sun will gather high."
-   Dan Young, The End of a Winter Day

 

 

"The birth of the Persian hero and sun-god Mithra was celebrated on December 25th. The myth tells that he sprang up full-grown from a rock, armed with a knife and carrying a torch.  Shepherds watched his miraculous appearance and hurried to greet him with their first fruits and their flocks and their harvests. His cult spread throughout Roman lands during the 2nd century.  In 274, the Emperor Aurelian declared December 25th the Birthday of Sol Invictus (the Unconquerable Sun) in Rome."
-  Christmas Even and Day

 

 

"Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly, I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow  -  sorrow for the lost Leonore --
For the rare and radiant maiden who the angels name Lenore  --
Nameless here for evermore." 
-   Edgar Allan Poe, 1809-1849, The Raven

 

 

"How like a winter hath my absence been
From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!
What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!
What old December’s bareness every where!
And yet this time remov’d was summer’s time;
The teeming autumn, big with rich increase,
Bearing the wanton burden of the prime,
Like widow’d wombs after their lords’ decease:
Yet this abundant issue seem’d to me
But hope of orphans and unfather’d fruit;
For summer and his pleasures wait on thee,
And, thou away, the very birds are mute:   
Or, if they sing, ’tis with so dull a cheer,   
That leaves look pale, dreading the winter’s near."
- William Shakespeare, How Like a Winter Hath my Absence Been (Sonnet 97)

 

 

Christmas, Yuletide, Winter Solstice: Bibliography, Links, Lore, Poems, Prayers, Preparations, Crafts, Rituals, Quotes      

 

 

"December is the twelfth and final month of the Gregorian calendar and the first month of winter.  It derives it's name from the Latin word decem, meaning ten, as December was the tenth month of the oldest Roman calendar.  The Latin name is derived from Decima, the middle Goddess of the Three Fates who personifies the present."
-   Daily Lore:  December 

 

 

"Before going to bed
After a fall of snow
I look out on the field
Shining there in the moonlight
So calm, untouched and white
Snow silence fills my head
After I leave the window.

Hours later near dawn
When I look down again
The whole landscape has changed
The perfect surface gone
Criss-crossed and written on
where the wild creatures ranged
while the moon rose and shone.

why did my dog not bark?
Why did I hear no sound
There on the snow-locked ground
In the tumultuous dark?

How much can come, how much can go
When the December moon is bright,
What worlds of play we'll never know
Sleeping away the cold white night
After a fall of snow."
-  May Sarton, December Moon

 

 

"Love awoke one winter's night
And wander'd through the snowbound land,
And calling to beasts and birds
Bid them his message understand.

And from the forest all wild things
That crept or flew obeyed love's call,
And learned from him the golden words
Of brotherhood for one and all."
-   Author Unknown

 

 

"December finds himself again a child
Even as he undergoes his age.
Cold and early darkness now descends,
Embracing sanctuaries of delight.
More and more he stares into the night,
Becoming less and less concerned with ends,
Emblem of the innocent as sage
Restored to wonder by what he must yield."
-  Nicholas Gordon

 

 

"Senseless is the breast and cold 
Which relenting love would fold;
Bloodless are the veins and chill 
Which the pulse of pain did fill; 
Every little living nerve 
That from bitter words did swerve 
Round the tortur'd lips and brow, 
Are like sapless leaflets now 
Frozen upon December's bough."   
-   Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), Lines Written Among the Euganean Hills

 

 

"It is December in the garden,
an early winter here, with snow
already hiding my worst offenses --
the places I disturbed your moss
with my heavy boots; the corner
where I planted in too deep a hole
the now stricken hawthorne: crystals
hanging from its icy branches
are the only flowers it will know.

When did solitude become
mere loneliness and the sounds
of birds at the feeder seem
not like a calibrated music
but the discordant dialects
of strangers simply flying through?
I have tried to construct a life
alone here -- coffee at dawn; a jog
through the chilling air

counting my heartbeats,
as if the doctor were my only muse;
books and bread and firewood --
those usual stepping-stones from month
to freezing month. but the constricted light,
the year closing down on itself with all
the vacancies of January ahead, leave me
unreconciled even to beauty.
When will you be coming back?"
-  Linda Pastan, The Letter

 

 

"I have been one acquainted with the night
I have walked out in rain - and back in rain
I have out-walked the furthest city light

I have looked down the saddest city lane
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say goodbye;
And further still at an unearthly height;
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night."
-   Robert Frost, Acquainted with the Night

 

 

"Through bare trees
I can see all the rickety lean-tos
and sheds, and the outhouse
with the half-moon on the door,
once modestly covered in
summer's greenery.

Through bare trees
I can watch the hawk
perched on a distant branch,
black silhouetted wings
shaking feathers and snow,
and so can its prey.

Through bare trees
I can be winter's innocence,
unashamed needfulness,
the thin and reaching limbs
of a beggar, longing to touch
but the hem of the sun."
-  Lisa Lindsey, Bare Trees

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Then he sighed and groaned; but his voice was weak
He was so ashamed that he could not speak.
He knew at last that he had been a fool,
To think of breaking the forest rule,
And choosing a dress himself to please,
Because he envied the other trees.
But it couldn't be helped, it was now too late,
He must make up his mind to a leafless fate!
So he let himself sink in a slumber deep,
But he moaned and he tossed in his troubled sleep,
Till the morning touched him with joyful beam,
And he woke to find it was all a dream.
For there in his evergreen dress he stood,
A pointed fir in the midst of the wood!
His branches were sweet with the balsam smell,
His needles were green when the white snow fell.
And always contented and happy was he,
The very best kind of a Christmas tree." 
-   Henry Van Dyke, The Foolish Fir Tree  

 

 

"Come, bring with a noise,
My merry, merry boys,
The Christmas Log to the firing;
While my good Dame, she
Bids ye all be free;
And drink to your heart's desiring.

With the last year's brand
Light the new block, and
For good success in his spending,
On your Psaltries play,
That sweet luck may
Come while the log is a-tinding.

Drink now the strong beer,
Cut the white loaf here,
The while the meat is a-shredding;
For the rare mince-pie
And the plums stand by
To fill the paste that's a-kneading."  
-   Robert Herrick, Ceremonies for Christmas 

 

 

"Somewhere across the winter world tonight
You will be hearing chimes that fill the air;
Christmas extends its all-enfolding light
Across the distance...something we can share.

You will be singing, just the same as I,
These familiar songs we know so well,
And you will see these same stars in your sky
And wish upon that brightest one that fell.

I shall remember you and trim my tree,
One shining star upon the topmost bough;
I will hang wreaths of faith that all may see --
Tonight I glimpse beyond the hear and now.

And all the time that we must be apart
I keep a candle in my heart."
-   Mary E. Linton, Candlelit Heart

 

 

"Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold,
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay."
-  Robert Frost, Nothing Gold Can Stay

 

 

"We wish you a merry Christmas; We wish you a merry Christmas;
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Good tidings we bring to you and your kin.
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!"
-  Traditional Christmas Carol

 

 

"Just hear those sleigh bells
Ringing and jing ting tingaling too;
Come on its lovely weather for
A sleigh ride together with you.

Outside the Snow is falling and
friends are calling yoo hoo;
Come on its lovely weather for
A sleigh ride together with you.

Giddy Up, Giddy Up,
Giddy Up, Let's Go!
Just look at the show,
Were riding in a wonderland of snow.

Giddy Up, Giddy Up, Giddy Up
Its Grand, just holdin' your hand
Were riding along with the song
Of a wintery wonder land.

Our cheeks are nice and rosy and
Comfy cozy are we,
Were snuggled
Upp together like birds of
A feather would be.

Just hear those sleigh bells
ringing and jing ting tingaling too
Come on its lovely weather for
A sleigh ride together with you.
Come on its lovely weather for
A sleigh ride together with you."
-  Christmas Carol, Sleigh Bells Ringing

 

 

"So the shortest day came, and the year died,
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive,
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - Listen!!
All the long echoes sing the same delight,
This shortest day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, fest, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!!"
-   Susan Cooper, The Shortest Day

 

 

"It is the middle of December.
The nights are longer, the weather is colder, winter comes.

Celebration is at hand.
Renewing bonds of friendship.
Visiting with family and friends.
Exchanging gifts with loved ones.
Candles, Dolls, Cookies, Sweets, Holly, Wreaths of Green.
Surprises.

Courts close. Battles stop.
Time off from school and work.
Holiday Break.

Singing, Dancing, Games, Merry-Making.
Food ... Lots of Food and Drink.
Great Feasts and Parties.

To celebrate the Sun, the Land, the Ancient Ones, the great Circle of Nature.
To welcome in the Winter and the New Year.
To bring forth renewal, peace, and joy.

Solstice Present .... Solstice Past.
This is the legacy of Saturnalia,
weeklong Pagan Winter Solstice Festival of Ancient Rome.

Saturnalia, your spirit and these traditions live on
in the world today
in Christmas feasts and New Year's parties,
in our Winter Solstice celebration tonight.

Bless our connection with the ancients.
Bless our connection with each other.
Bless our connection with future generations.

We rejoice.
Io, Saturnalia!
Io, Saturnalia!
Io, Saturnalia!"
-  Selena Fox, Saturnalia 

 

 

Perennials for Every Purpose: Choose the Right Plants for Your Conditions, Your Garden, and Your Taste by Larry Hodgson

Grasses: Versatile Partners for Uncommon Garden Design Nancy J. Ondra

Designer Plant Combinations: 105 Stunning Gardens Using Six Plants or Fewer by Scott Calhoun

The Perennial Care Manual: A Plant-by-Plant Guide: What to Do and When to Do It by Nancy J. Ondra

Perennial Combinations: Stunning Combinations That Make Your Garden Look Fantastic Right from the Start by C. Colston Burrell

The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: Planting and Pruning Techniques by Tracy DiSabato-Aust 

 

                      

 

 

 

"Deep at the bottom of the well no warmth has yet returned,
The rain which sighs and feels so cold has dampened withered roots.
What sort of man at such a time would come to visit the teacher?
As this is not a time for flowers, I find I've come alone."
-  Su Shi, Visiting the the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice 

 

 

    "The holly and the ivy, when they were both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown. . .

    I am the Holly King, Lord of the Waning Year. You may know me as the Green Man or as the Winter King. I rule from Midsummer to Midwinter, and my reign culminates in the festivities of Yuletide. As the wren dies to make way for the robin, soon I will bow before my brother the Oak King. You will not see me again until the Sun once more begins to wane. As I prepare to withdraw into the deep midwinter, I contemplate the glowing light of the reborn Sun in my cup — and in this holy grail, I see visions and dreams of the year to come.

    Carry a sprig of holly with you as my token. It will protect you against fierce winter storms, and will bestow upon you the focus, direction and courage you need to succeed in your own spiritual quest.

    Fill your homes with holly this season! Deck the halls! My evergreen leaves and bright red berries, seen against the barren oaks of winter, will remind you of the Life that sustains us during the bitterest time of the year."
-   The Holly King  

 

 

"At solstice, the woods were bright in a snowy way, the sky pearl gray above the stately maples and gnarled burr oaks. An Alaskan marooned in the urban Midwest, it took me years to find this nearby patch of relatively undisturbed land where I can sense the power of wildness. Now I go there often, watching the seasons unfold their changeful unchanging patterns in the increasingly familiar forest.

I especially like to walk among the sleeping trees in the half-lit silence of winter dawns. The trail I follow winds and twists, new patches of mixed woodland appearing at every turn. That morning, I reached a point where the path turns sharply left to follow a small ravine. In spring, ephemeral ponds—lively with salamanders, loud with frogs—form in the creases of the forest there. But in frozen winter, I expected nothing beyond silence and wind.

So I did not see them at first, three deer beside three empty larches. When I made them out—gray-dun hides against a gray-dun world—they were motionless, white tails aloft like flags of distress. I stopped in my tracks, thinking how lucky I was to meet the animal my Celtic forebears called the spirit of wildness on that auspicious day."
-   Patricia Monaghan, Singing with Deer

 

 

"The lakes of ice gleam bluer than the lakes
Of water 'neath the summer sunshine gleamed:
Far fairer than when placidly it streamed,
The brook its frozen architecture makes,
And under bridges white its swift way takes.
Snow comes and goes as messenger who dreamed
Might linger on the road; or one who deemed
His message hostile gently for their sakes
Who listened might reveal it by degrees.
We gird against the cold of winter wind
Our loins now with mighty bands of sleep,
In longest, darkest nights take rest and ease,
And every shortening day, as shadows creep
O'er the brief noontide, fresh surprises find."
-   Helen Hunt Jackson, A Calendar of Sonnets: December

 

 

Return to the Top of this Webpage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December

Links and References

 

 

Ancient Origins of the Holidays   

Annie's Month of December

An Annotated & Illustrated Collection of Worldwide Links to Mythologies, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Sacred Arts & Sacred Traditions.  By Kathleen Jenks, Ph.D.

Autumn - Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore  

Birthdays of Famous People - December     

Chanukkah  

Christmas Celebrations

Christmas, Yuletide, Winter Solstice: Bibliography, Links, Lore, Poems, Prayers, Preparations, Crafts, Rituals, Quotes      

Creating Circles and Ceremonies: Rituals for all Seasons and Reasons.  By Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart.  Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, New Page Books, 2006.  Appendices, glossary, index, 288 pages.  ISBN: 1564148645.  VSCLC. 

Cuttings - December.   Haiku and short Poems by Michael P. Garofalo.   

Cyder.   John Phillips (1676-1709)     

Daily Lore:  December 

Daoist Health and Spiritual Practices

 

 

 

Months and Seasons Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations Information, Weather, Gardening Chores Compiled by Mike Garofalo
Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
January	April	July	October
February	May	August	November
March	June	September	December

 

 

 

December Facts from Encarta Encyclopedia:  "December is the last and most festive month in the Gregorian calendar.  It has 31 days. December was the tenth month (Latin decem,"ten") in the Roman calendar, but the name was retained in the present reckoning. The Christmas season, culminating on December 25, has taken on some of the festal nature of the Saturnalia, a Roman holiday celebrated at this time of year, honoring the god Saturn. Kwanzaa, an African American festival and the Jewish holiday Hanukkah (in most years) also
occur in December."

December Holidays - Links

December Holidays Theme Page - Lesson Plans   

December in Japan

December Links from Yahoo     

December Lore

December Monthly Teacher Resource Plans

December - Mystical WWW

December Poems - Music by Gary Peacock and Jan Garbarek.  

December: Quotes, Poems, Lore, Myths, Sayings, Celebrations

Everything About Kwanza 

Fairies, Elves, Nature Spirits:  Lands Spirits, Alfs, Wights, Lars, Trolls, Dwarves, Sidhe, Devas, Otherworld, Little Folk, Ancestors, Ghosts 

Fall, Autumn - Quotes, Poems, Lore, Celebrations   

February:  Quotes, Poems, Lore, Myths, Celebrations

Flowers: Quotations, Lore, Myths, Resources

German Customs and Traditions 

Greetings and Lore for Yuletide

The Green Man (Powers of Spring and Summer): Bibliography, Links, Quotes, Information, Lore, Myths, Role  

Green Way Blog

The Green Wizard   

The Grim Reaper and Crows

 

 

 

Seeds and Cuttings

Hydrofarm Hot House Seed Starter 11-by-22-Inch   

Secrets of Plant Propagation: Starting Your Own Flowers, Vegetables, Fruits, Shrubs, and Trees 

Hydrofarm Jump Start Indoor Grow Light System 

Plant Propagation A to Z: Growing Plants for Free  

Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners  

Hydrofarm Germination Station with Heat Mat  

American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual    

Burpee Seed Starter: A Guide to Growing Flower, Vegetable, and Herb Seeds Indoors and Outdoors

Plant Propagator's Bible

The New Seed Starter's Handbook

RION MLT3 Mini Lean-To Greenhouse

Seed Sowing and Saving: Step-by-Step Techniques for Collecting and Growing  

Saving Seeds: The Gardener's Guide to Growing and Storing Vegetable and Flower Seeds

Seed Sowing and Saving: Step-by-Step Techniques for Collecting and Growing More Than 100 Vegetables, Flowers, and Herbs

 

                                    

 

 

Holiday Insights

Holiday Season Ideas.   From The Old Farmer's Almanac.

Holidays, Celebrations and Seasonal Poetry:  Winter.   By Sue Ellen Thompson.   

The Holly King

In Nature's Honor: Myths and Rituals Celebrating the Earth.  By Patricia Montley.   Boston, Skinner House Books, 2005.  Index, 379 pages.  ISBN: 155896486X  VSCLC. 

January:  Quotes, Poems, Lore, Myths, Celebrations

Kwanzaa Festival Information Center   African-American Cultural Holiday Celebrations   

Labyrinths: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Quotes  

Land Spirits, Nature Spirits:  Fairies, Elves, Alfs, Wights, Trolls, Dwarves, Sidhe, Devas, Otherworld, Little Folk, Ancestors, Ghosts 

Legends and Lore for December      Wiccan lore.

Llewellyn's 2010 Magical Almanac: Practical Magic for Everyday Living.  20th Anniversary Edition.  Woodbury, Minnesota, Llewellyn Worldwide Pubs., 2009.  360 pages.  VSCL. 

Llewellyn's Sabbats Almanac: Samhain 2009 to Mabon 2010.  Woodbury, Minnesota, Llewellyn Worldwide Pubs., 2009.  312 pages.  VSCL. 

Mexican Christmas Traditions    

Months: Poems, Quotations, Sayings, Lore

Native American Lore for December  

Nature Spirits:  Fairies, Elves, Alfs, Wights, Lars, Trolls, Dwarves, Sidhe, Devas, Otherworld, Little Folk, Ancestors, Ghosts 

New Year and Christmas Folklore 

November:  Quotes, Poems, Lore, Myths, Sayings

Old-Fashioned Solstice    

One Old Druid's Final Journey - The Notebook's of the Librarian of Gushen Grove  

October: Quotes, Poems, Lore, Myths, Celebrations  

Pathways in the Green Valley Blog.   By Michael Garofalo. 

Poems for a Long Winter's Night 

Singing to Deer.  By Patricia Monaghan. 

Quotes for Gardeners.   A collection of over 3,500 quotes arranged by 140 topics.

Ramadaan

Red Bluff, California.  Natural History Studies at our Home and Gardens.  Valley Spirit Center.  By Karen and Mike Garofalo. 

Resources for Winter Holidays    Waterboro Public Library

Sacred Circles:  Bibliography, Links, Resources, Quotations, Notes, Construction 

Samhain:  Preparing for Samhain, Halloween, on October 31st   

Saturnalia

Seasons - Quotes for Gardeners    

School of the Seasons 

The Solitary Druid: A Practitioner's Guide.   By Robert Lee (Skip) Ellison.   New York, Kensington Pub. Co,., Citadel Press, 2005.   Index, bibliography, appendices, 262 pages.  ISBN:  0806526750.  VSCL. 

The Spirit of Gardening   3,400 quotes, poems, sayings, and ideas about gardening, gardens, and the Green Way.  Materials organized by 140 topics; and a fully indexed collection with a search engine.  Online since 1999.  Over 6MB of text.  Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo. 

Taoist Health and Spiritual Practices

Trees: Quotations, Lore, Myths, Resources 

Twelve Christmas Poems for Kids   By Martin Dejnicki. 

Walkers Between the Worlds:  The Western Mysteries from Shaman to Magus.  By Caitlin and John Matthews.  Rochester, Vermont, Inner Traditios, 1985, 2003.  Bibliography, index, 441 pages.  ISBN: 0892810912.  VSCL. 

Ways of Walking 

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner.  By Scott Cunningham.  Llewellyn's Practical Magick Series.  St. Paul, Minnesota, Llewellyn Publications, 1994.  Index, bibliography, glossary, 218 pages.  VSCL.  ISBN: 0875421180.  A very good introduction to the Craft by an open-minded person.  

Wicca Holidays and Sabbaths 

Winter Greetings and Lore    Excellent information and links from Kathleen Jenks.

Winter Solstice - Ancient Origins

Winter Holidays

Winter - Quotes, Poems, and Lore

Winter Solstice Celebrations   Excellent information presented by B. A. Robinson. References and links provided.

Winter Solstice: Cultural Celebrations

Winter Solstice (Dong Zhi) - Chinese Culture

Winter Solstice Celebrations for Families and Households.   By Selena Fox.   

Winter Solstice:  The Sacred Traditions of Christmas.  By John Matthews and Caitlin Matthews.  Quest Books, 2003.  228 pages.  ISBN: 0835608344.   VSCL. 

Winter Solstice, Yule: Bibliography, Links, Lore, Poems, Prayers, Preparations, Crafts, Rituals, Quotes      

 

 

Yule, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Saturnalia 

 

Yule, Winter Solstice: Bibliography, Links, Lore, Poems, Prayers, Preparations, Crafts, Rituals, Quotes      

Yule:  Preparing for Yule and Winter Solstice, December 20th-31st  

Yule: The Eight Seasonal Religious Celebrations of NeoPagans   

Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth.  By Dorothy Morrison.  Llewellyn Publications, 2000.  216 pages.  ISBN: 1567184960. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December Weather Lore

 

A green Christmas; a white Easter.

If there's thunder during Christmas week,
The Winter will be anything but meek.

The nearer the New Moon to Christmas Day, the harder the Winter.

If Christmas day be bright and clear
There’ll be two winters in the year.

Thunder in December presages fine weather.

Like in December like all the year long.

Clichés for Gardeners

Weather Lore

 

December Associations

 
Astrological Signs:  Capricorn, December 22 - January 20

Astrological Signs:  Sagittarius, November 23 - December 2 

December Birthstones:  Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli

Spirits:  Snow faeries, storm faeries, winter tree faeries.
Herbs:  Holly, English ivy, fir, mistletoe.
Colors:  Blood red, green, white and black.
Flowers:  Holly, poinsettia, Christmas cactus.
Scents:  Violet, patchouli, rose, geranium, frankincense, myrrh, lilac.
Stones:  Blue zircon, turquoise, serpentine, jacinth, peridot.
Trees:  Pine, fir, holly.
Animals:  Mouse, deer, horse, bear.
Birds:  Rook, robin, snowy owl.
Deities:  Athene, Attis, Dionysus, Fates, Frey , Freyja, Hathor, Hecate, Ixchel,
   Kris Kringle (as the Pagan God of Yule), Lucina, Minerva, Neith, Norns, Osiris,
   Woden, and the Wiccan Horned God (Consort of the Wiccan Goddess).
-   December Lore

 

Return to the Top of this Webpage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December Gardening Chores

 

Vancouver, Columbia River Valley, Washington, USA

USDA Zone 8B

December Average:  34F low, 46F high, 6.68" Rain

Typical Weather for Our Vancouver Area

Vancouver, Washington: Natural History Studies at our Home and Gardens

The Spirit of Gardening

Pruning leafless trees and shrubs. 
Raking and composting leaves.  
Adding compost and fertilizer to the vegetable and flower gardens.
Planting bare root trees and shrubs.
Pruning back grape vines.
Cleaning, sharpening, and storing tools.
Reading seed and gardening catalogs.
Making sure house gutters and drainage systems are working.  
Pruning evergreens for shape.  
Moving tender potted plants to protected areas.  
Protect tender plants (e.g., citrus) from frosts.  
Protect valuable garden tools and equipment from the rain and fog.
Tending winter vegetables: cabbage, lettuce, peas, spinach, broccoli, etc.
Putting some bulbs in the ground.  
Plant onion and garlic sets.  
Watering potted plants as needed if rain is insufficient.  
Pruning back flowering plants, like mums.
Dividing dormant herbs.  
Setting out some color plants, e.g., calendulas. 
Removing dead or dying or fallen trees and shrubs.   
 

 

Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA

USDA Zone 9

Typical Weather for Our Area

Red Bluff, California.  Natural History Studies at our Home and Gardens

The Spirit of Gardening

 

Pruning leafless trees and shrubs.
Adding compost and fertilizer to the vegetable and flower gardens.
Planting bare root trees and shrubs.
Pruning back grape vines.
Cleaning, sharpening, and storing tools.
Start taking cuttings from dormant vines and shrubs.
Reading seed and gardening catalogs.
Digging trenches for underground plastic pipe.  
Making sure drainage systems are working.  
Pruning evergreens for shape.  
Moving tender potted plants to protected areas.  
Burning large piles of cuttings and weeds.  
Protect tender plants (e.g., citrus) from frosts.  
Protect valuable garden tools and equipment from the rain and fog.
Tending winter vegetables: cabbage, lettuce, peas, spinach, brocoli, etc.
Putting some bulbs in the ground.  
Plant onion and garlic sets.  
Watering potted plants as needed if rain is insufficient.  
Pruning back flowering plants, like mums.
Prepare new strawberry and berry vine beds.  
Spraying some fruit trees (e.g., peaches) to prevent leaf curl.  
Dividing dormant herbs.  
Raking and composting leaves.  
Setting out some color plants, e.g., calendulas. 
Removing dead or dying or fallen trees and shrubs.   
 

December Gardening Chores and Tips for U.S.A. Zones

Earth Wise Creations December Tips

Oak Hill December Tips

Louisiana State University December Tips

Oregon State University December Tips

52 Weeks in the California Garden by Richard Smaus

The Gay Gardener - December

Top Garden Projects by Ed Hume in the Pacific Northwest

Seasonal Garden Chores - Links

December Monthly Gardening Tips from Ortho

Tips for December in the Low Desert

 

 

 

Months and Seasons Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations Information, Weather, Gardening Chores Compiled by Mike Garofalo
Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
January	April	July	October
February	May	August	November
March	June	September	December

 

 

 

 

Return to the Top of this Webpage

 

 

 

 

 

Photographs in December

Karen and Mike Garofalo
Red Bluff, Northern Rural California

Red Bluff Gardens -  Comparison from 1998 - 2007

Red Bluff, California.  Natural History Studies at our Home and Gardens