December is here — bringing with it the end of the year and a festive energy that makes us want to revel in every moment of winter’s charm!
It’s a month of joyful celebrations, reflective moments, and the warmth of time shared together by the fireside.
To help you embrace the spirit of December, we’ve curated a selection of heartwarming and motivational quotes (and poems!) about the twelfth and final month of the year.
And because we’re Good Good Good — we’ve also highlighted the best quotes around December’s significant days and awareness observances — like World AIDS Day, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and Human Rights Day. Plus, of course, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve. We’ve also included quotes from influential celebrities and leaders who celebrate their birthdays in December.
Whether you’re wrapping up the year, commemorating a December birthday, or just seeking to infuse these 31 days with a burst of end-of-year positivity, these quotes are for you. Scroll all the way through to uncover some festive gems.
Here’s to making the most of December!
Explore more monthly quotes: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
The Best December Quotes
Famous Quotes About December
“December is the time for remembering the past and reaching toward the future.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Good morning, happy first day of December. Keep looking up. That’s the secret of life.”
— Charles M. Schulz
“Of all the months of the year there is not a month one half so welcome to the young, or so full of happy associations, as the last month of the year.”
— Charles Dickens
“December is a time to reflect on the blessings of the past year and to embrace the opportunities of the coming one.”
— Oprah Winfrey
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”
— John Steinbeck
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. Wishing you happiness.”
— Helen Keller
“Yet my heart loves December’s smile as much as July’s golden beam; then let us sit and watch the while the blue ice curdling on the stream.”
— Emily Brontë
“December is a month of invitation to forget ourselves in the service of others.”
— Robert Louis Stevenson
“I’d go back to December, turn around and make it alright
I’d go back to December, turn around and change my own mind
I go back to December all the time”
— Taylor Swift
Inspirational December Quotes
“December, being the last month of the year, cannot help but make us think of what is to come.”
— Fennel Hudson
“So quiet and subtle is the beauty of December that escapes the notice of many people their whole lives through. Colour gives way to form: every branch distinct, in a delicate tracery against the sky.”
— Flora Thompson
“If we make it through December, everything’s gonna be alright I know; it’s the coldest time of winter and I shiver when I see the falling snow.”
— Merle Haggard
“December is a month of enormous potential. It’s a time when we can all give and receive, a time when the spirit of humanity shines brightest.”
— Michael Josephson
→ Read and share more quotes about the end of the year
Quotes for Awareness Holidays in December
A collection of quotes to celebrate December’s awareness months and national days.
→ Explore more of this month’s awareness days in our December calendar
World AIDS Day
December 1
“Compassion and empathy are powerful forces in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Let us use them to break down barriers and create a more inclusive world.”
— Kiyoshi Kuromiya
“HIV does not make people dangerous to know, so you can shake their hands and give them a hug; Heaven knows they need it.”
— Princess Diana
“I don’t think you should be ashamed of anybody you know that has AIDS. You should stand as close to them as you can and help them out as much as you can. I’m a strong believer in that and that’s why I try to do that for everyone I know has the virus.”
— Marsha P. Johnson
→ Read and share these HIV/AIDS good news stories
International Day of Persons with Disabilities
December 3
“There’s no more innovative group of people that I’ve met than disabled people because our innovation, our creativity, our community is how we survive.”
— Imani Barbarin, on a podcast
“There is wisdom and beauty from disabled people everywhere. We just have to look and have the humility to learn.”
— Alice Wong, Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life
“People with disabilities are not looking for charity; they are looking for dignity.”
— Aimee Mullins
Hanukkah
December 7 - December 15
“The proper response, as Hanukkah teaches, is not to curse the darkness but to light a candle.”
— Irving Greenberg
“Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame. Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart.”
— Hannah Senesh
“Sometimes, a flame can be utterly extinguished. Sometimes, a flame can shrink and waver, but sometimes a flame refuses to go out. It flares up from the faintest ember to illuminate the darkness, to burn in spite of overwhelming odds.”
— Karen Hesse
Human Rights Day
December 10
“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”
— John F. Kennedy
“We declare that human rights are for all of us, all the time: whoever we are and wherever we are from; no matter our class, our opinions, our sexual orientation.”
— Ban Ki-moon
“Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.”
— The Dalai Lama
Christmas
December 25
“Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.”
— Winston Churchill
“Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand.”
— Dr. Seuss
“There are three stages of man: he believes in Santa Claus; he does not believe in Santa Claus; he is Santa Claus.”
— Bob Phillips
Kwanzaa
December 26 - January 1
“We have religious holidays and we have secular holidays. I see Kwanzaa as an opportunity for African Americans to reaffirm ourselves if we choose to, a chance to rebuild and renew our focus. I see Kwanzaa as a holiday of the spirit.”
— Jessica Harris
“Kwanzaa is a celebration of freedom, of the free space we have created to honor ourselves, to remember, reflect and recommit ourselves.”
— Maulana Karenga
“Kwanzaa is a special time to remember the ancestors, the bridge builders, and the leaders.”
— Dorothy Winbush Riley
New Year’s Eve
December 31
“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”
— Oprah Winfrey
“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.”
— Hal Borland
“In our perfect ways. In the ways we are beautiful. In the ways we are human. We are here. Happy New Year’s. Let’s make it ours.”
— Beyoncé
→ Read and share more quotes about the new year
→ Explore this list of New Year’s resolutions and word of the year ideas
Quotes from Inspiring People with December Birthdays
Janelle Monáe
December 1
“I believe it’s time that women truly owned their superpowers and used their beauty and strength to change the world around them.”
— Janelle Monáe
“One of my mantras is, ‘Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable.’ I keep that with me in my back pocket. Shoot, I keep it in my front pocket! I keep it in my hair.”
— Janelle Monáe
“I feel myself becoming the fearless person I have dreamt of being. Have I arrived? No. But I'm constantly evolving and challenging myself to be unafraid to make mistakes.”
— Janelle Monáe
Terence Lester
December 4
“‘Everyone is welcome’ is drastically different from “we built this with you in mind.” People do not want to go where they are merely tolerated; they want to go where they are included.”
— Terence Lester, in a tweet
“The empowerment, the affirmation of the dignity of all people, is that which makes true community. it is that which helps make every member flourish.”
— Terence Lester, When We Stand: The Power of Seeking Justice Together
“I think the real power of social change comes through the power of community. That when I offer my gifts and skill sets in collaboration with other people who were being responsible for the role they play in the larger fabric of social change, then together we make a difference.”
— Terence Lester, in a podcast interview with Good Good Good
Pope Francis
December 17
“Authentic dialogue also demands a capacity for empathy. For dialogue to take place, there has to be this empathy.”
— Pope Francis
“Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that creates huge inequalities.”
— Pope Francis
“Education, work, and access to health care for all are key elements for development and the just distribution of goods, for the attainment of social justice, for membership in society, and for free and responsible participation in political life.”
— Pope Francis
Jane Fonda
December 21
“Stay curious, keep learning and keep growing. And always strive to be more interested than interesting.”
— Jane Fonda
“Perfection is a toxic desire. We are not supposed to be perfect. The challenge is not to be perfect, it’s to be whole.”
— Jane Fonda
“We cannot always control our thoughts, but we can control our words, and repetition impresses the subconscious, and we are then master of the situation.”
— Jane Fonda
→ Read and share more quotes from Jane Fonda
December Love Quotes
“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”
— Hamilton Wright Mabie
“December is a time for family, for love, and for forgiveness.”
— Caroline Myss
“Will you love me in December as you do in May?”
— Jack Kerouac
“Remember this December, That love weighs more than gold!”
— Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon
“I find that it’s the simple things that remind you of family around the holidays.”
— Amy Adams
“Snow falling softly on lashes of eyes you love, and a cold cheek growing warm next to your own in hushed dark familial December.”
— James Schuyler
December Poems
“December drops no weak, relenting tear, By our fond Summer sympathies ensnared. Nor from the perfect circle of the year Can even Winter’s crystal gems be spared.”
— Christopher Pearce Cranch
“Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December. And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.”
— Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
“As soon
Seek roses in December
ice in June;
Hope constancy in wind, or corn in chaff;
Believe a woman or an epitaph,
Or any other thing that’s false, before
You trust in critics.”
— Lord Byron
“And last December drear, with piteous low-drooped head. In a voice of desolation crying out, ‘The year is dead. And so, with changeful gear, with smile or frown or song, the months, in strange variation, are ever gliding along.”
— Edgar Fawcett
“December is a bewitching month.
The grey of cold teases
to explode into something worthwhile,
into a dream of cold,
a starlight shower you can taste,
a cold that does not chill.”
— Joseph Coelho, A Year of Nature Poems
“In drear-nighted December,
Too happy, happy brook,
Thy bubblings ne’er remember
Apollo’s summer look;
But with a sweet forgetting,
They stay their crystal fretting,
Never, never petting
About the frozen time.”
— John Keats
“I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.
”We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,”
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.”
— Oliver Herford
“At Christmas I no more desire a rose
Than wish a snow in May’s new-fangled mirth;
But like of each thing that in season grows.”
— William Shakespeare
Funny December Quotes
“You can tell a lot about a person by the way they handle three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.”
— Maya Angelou
“The hard soil and four months of snow make the inhabitants of the northern temperate zone wiser and abler than his fellow who enjoys the fixed smile of the tropics.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
“It is December, and nobody asked if I was ready.”
— Sarah Kay
“I’m bad on Valentine’s Day, but even worse on Christmas. I go shopping at nine o’clock on December 24th every year. Nobody else is there. I’m in Toys’R’Us all by myself. I get there five minutes before closing.”
— Jamie Foxx
“That’s the thing about December: it goes by you in a flash. If you just close your eyes, it’s gone. And it’s like you were never there.”
— Donal Ryan
“December is the toughest month of the year. Others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, October, August, and February.”
— Mark Twain
Winter Quotes
“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold.”
— Aristotle
“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is time for home.”
— Edith Sitwell
“Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.”
— Paul Theroux
“It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.”
— John Burroughs
“Snow flurries began to fall and they swirled around people’s legs like house cats. It was magical, this snow globe world.”
— Sarah Addison Allen
“In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.”
— William Blake
“Winter forms our character and brings out our best.”
— Tom Allen
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”
— Albert Camus
“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, ‘Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”
— Lewis Carroll
“Autumn arrives in early morning, but spring at the close of a winter day.”
— Elizabeth Bowen
“Wisdom comes with winters.”
— Oscar Wilde
“Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour.”
— John Boswellhele
Short December Quotes
“A long December and there’s reason to believe, maybe this year will be better than the last.”
— Adam Duritz
“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.”
— James M. Barrie
“Chill December brings the sleet, Blazing fire, and Christmas treat.”
— Sara Coleridge
“In the winter she curls up around a good book and dreams away the cold.”
— Ben Aaronovitch, Broken Homes
“In cold December fragrant chaplets blow, and heavy harvests nod beneath the snow.”
— Alexander Pope
“You want to be playing your best in December and hopefully it’ll carry over into January.”
— Philip Rivers
“December is a magical time of the year, with all the Christmas lights and the snow. It’s like a fairytale.”
— Brittany Murphy
→ Read more short quotes
More December Quotes
“Snow falling in the middle of a December night will always fill my heart with sweet clarity.”
— Novala Takemoto
“December is a month that is rife with nostalgia. If there’s anything deep in your heart that you want to keep buried, you can count on December to bring it to the surface”
— Lois Duncan
“From December to March, there are for many of us three gardens – the garden outdoors, the garden of pots and bowls in the house, and the garden of the mind’s eye.”
— Katherine S. White
“December doesn’t change your neurochemistry. If your brain isn’t made for an overload of alcohol, parties, passive aggressive relatives, general socialising with people you like but still get exhausted by, relentless routine rearrangement, it should be okay to say no to things. There is nothing festive about burnouts and breakdowns.”
— Matt Haig, on self care
“Men are April when they woo, December when they wed. Maids are May when they are maids, but the sky changes when they are wives.”
— William Shakespeare
“The crisp path through the field in this December snow, in the deep dark, where we trod the buried grass like ghosts on dry toast.”
— Dylan Thomas
“December’s wintery breath is already clouding the pond, frosting the pane, obscuring summer’s memory…”
— John Geddes, A Familiar Rain
