December is the color of blue

Every month has a color that suits it.   

Now here’s where I may be showing I’m behind times. Perhaps this color thing is in place already.

Maybe some Pantone-like color choice for each month has long been in existence. If so this is the cue for me to say Oh excuse me, and whistle my way offscreen.

If a color scheme for each month hasn’t been devised, however, let’s get going. 

Just as a month has a birthstone and zodiac sign it might as well also have a color assigned it as part of the package deal.

With this in mind it seems to me that December, of all its confreres, has dibs on the color blue.

Deep blue, midnight blue, cobalt blue, all shades of blue fit with December. 

December is frosty blue skies, blue fingertips and mountainsides of blue spruce mantled with snow.

Its color of blue is also the aquamarine of tropical seas. 

There are no coastal shores here but they're our December getaways. They're right up there with hot toddies for easing seasonal aches.

It's sufficient evidence to second the motion that December and blue go hand in (blue suede) glove. 

For those who need more convincing consider blue in other December formats.

Indigo blue dusk blooms in the withdrawal of each short winter day. The indigo hue, which spreads and intensifies with dark, is a tint of blue I propose be given a name, December Sunset.

December dusk quiets the day. Vast blue shadows of snowy ground merge into chilled inky blue silence.

Night's metallic blue glitter is equally a December color. 

Through frosted windows, or stamping numb toes in lined boots in the crunchy snow, we gaze up in wonder at stars piercing with light the cerulean field above our heads.

The color blue is the festive color of the December holidays. It’s a primary color we choose for gift wrap, ribbon and bows. 

It’s the blue bulbs in sets of colored Christmas tree lights. They merrily twinkle or glow as if under a lampshade under a coating of new snow.

It's pale blue candles which rest in greenery on our fireplace mantels. It's designer blue, in all its range of shades, which is a current color trend in party wear. 

It’s the rich royal blue of cashmere pashimas we fling fashionably around our shoulders as we step into our round of December events.  

This time of year, for a multitude of reasons, can bring a person down. “I feel blue,” we say.

The holidays can trigger flashbacks to a time when we were little and life was secure, as it can appear without a doubt as we look back.  

Comparisons between then and now can lead to a blue outbreak. It may be a fleeting thing. It can sometimes persist through the holidays.

At this time we remember loved ones no longer with us. Each grieves in a personal way. Loss can make celebrations going around us ring not with glad peals but dimly as from afar.

For others the season's downcast mood is a response to lack of sun. Daylight is at its lowest in December.

Those who get blue often can pinpoint what makes them react to the season as they do.

Understanding the seasonal effect is good information to have. It doesn’t automatically lift the heaviness some recognize as a constituent of this month.

 We can take steps, by many different aids, to gain peace over regrets or loneliness at this time of connections and community. 

One approach is to shift the word blue away from a symbol for feelings that have gone south (but  not with the vacationers chasing the sun).

We adopt the tactic of using the color blue to our benefit. We utilize blue as our token of joy.  

We can begin using blue to advantage by regarding it like vivid December sky. On it the clouds of care sail away. The sun beams down to warm us through and through.

Ro Giencke

December 20, 2013