Too bright! Fifty feet away and all I could see were the bright, twinkling Christmas lights wrapped around nearly every house on the block. As I neared closer and closer to my house, each house came into focus yet every light still seemed to shine as brightly as ever but, only at this time of year were they out. The cold winds snapping against my dry, cracked skin as I tried to get to my house as fast as...

The first crunch of the snow and the first delicate smells of winter is when Christmas had started in my eyes. When the first fairy lights shone bright in the air and illuminated the world to its fullest,when the first church bells rang proudly through the streets is when the Christmas spirit has been official.For those whom won't dance under the Christmas tree this monthhowever can confirm its that time again. The noisy month. The sales and singers. Sometimes annoying...

As I looked out of the window sill to imbue the mesmerizing soft solid drizzling vividly from the scarlett coloured sky,  I found the dense droplets of water vapour staring back at me instead. This year...there was going to be no sign of snow in the country. Or so I've heard.

Frozen 2 had just hit the theatres on 22nd November... but there was still no sign of winter in India.

As my head rested on the violet cushion that Mumma...

There is nothing about December that excites me. And yet, it is the only month that makes me feel its presence. 
Summer months shine away leaving a blur of memories behind, monsoon months pass away in drinking chai and eating hot pakoras, and autumn, autumn, sadly never makes its way to my country. 

But in the end, it is always December. December with my unexplored ambitions, unvisited destinations, and incomplete resolutions. 
If there is one thing that honestly entices...

Aaliyah Simpson
Mrs. T. Samuel
American Literature
10 December 2019

December
    What does December mean to me? It means time with family. It’s about the happiness little kids get from the approaching holidays. December means even though it’s cold outside, you get warmth from a blanket and some hot chocolate.  Some of my favorite memories are from December, all the love in the air could warm the coldest of hearts. I’m sure even the oldest person recalls a memory from...

“Two minutes” yelled the soldier in the front of the landing boat. The sea was rough on the morning of June 6th, 1944 as me and several other soldiers packed into the landing boat. My heart felt like it was trying to pound out of my chest as we moved closer to the beach. “One minute yelled the same soldier in the front. The only thing I could think about is, how am I going to get out of this...

    December, all the memories to the days of countdown as we wait for the special day every child desires. From counting down to checking if the time has come. Every kid can remember when they open there eyes to even when they close them that day. Making sure that they are good and not bad, listening, learning, making a list and checking it twice with toys, cards, and only the dearest of wishes. Until the final countdown, which starts off...

    I push the heavy curtains blocking the doorway to La Bamba forward, the cold air rushing past me and into the entry way of the restaurant. I hold the curtains for my friends, and they each utter a "Thanks" as they exit La Bamba. We re-group properly once everyone is through, and stand on the pavement together, watching the snow fall from the sky. It doesn't rain often in Beijing, let alone snow. Winter winds are usually biting and dry....

December to me is the day where I wake up in the early morning, when the light begins to gently filter through the blinds, I look outside and it appears to be raining paper. Standing at the window, every year without fail I am transfixed by the pure white flakes that appear as if from a picture book, settling on the urban pavement and juxtaposing the harsh London setting with their wintery hue. They dance through the air; spinning and...

It appears to be raining paper, standing at the edge of the London Christmas market, I look up and I am transfixed by the pure white flakes that appear as if from a picture book, settling on the urban pavement and juxtaposing the harsh London setting with their wintery hue. They dance through the air; spinning and leaping and twirling like ballet dancers performing a well-rehearsed routine. They settle in every corner of our humble monochromatic street, creating a blanket...

It appears to be raining paper, standing at the edge of the London Christmas market, I look up and I am transfixed by the pure white flakes that appear as if from a picture book, settling on the urban pavement and juxtaposing the harsh London setting with their wintery hue. They dance through the air; spinning and leaping and twirling like ballet dancers performing a well-rehearsed routine. They settle in every corner of our humble monochromatic street, creating a blanket...

It appears to be raining paper, standing at the edge of the London Christmas market, I look up and I am transfixed by the pure white flakes that appear as if from a picture book, settling on the urban pavement and juxtaposing the harsh London setting with their wintery hue. They dance through the air; spinning and leaping and twirling like ballet dancers performing a well-rehearsed routine. They settle in every corner of the monochromatic street, creating a blanket of...

Cold. A brittle sensation, apathetic to wistful, woeful nature of a mind. Though my body walks forward, frost being crushed under my damp-infected boots, I am not there. My soul is subdued in the wilted trees, the wet swings that rust, unused... not that they are oft used during the summer anyway. But, on long-overdue, scarce sunny days, the swings have life. On those days, they can sneer, for they know their worth, and we the people do not. Congealed...

    December with her pearly white hair and glittering eyes and high pitched voice that whistles and is chilly on the back of our necks. She brings joy to so many. Her carols are a thing of beauty, she herds families together and forces them away from the chaos of their lives. When I was little, I saw December and thought her a goddess. With her came the snow that I could play and sled in. She tasted like...

December is the time of the year where people celebrate.
December is the time of the year where people reflect on themselves.
December is the time of the year where people give gifts.
December is the time of the year where people receive gifts.
December is the time of the year where people realizes that gifts doesn't give them happiness.
December is the time of the year where people realize that happiness is family and friends.
December is the time...

Author: Natalie Page
 
With every footstep I take I begin to stiffen, feeling more statue than human. My legs slide against together creating a friction used to warm my frost-bitten legs, the attempt seemed quite futile. I journeyed across the yard filled with trees lit with specks of color. They expressed an oasis in this darkening world. My mind searches for warmth replacing the chills.
My mind journeyed back to the dinner table. Where the smell of home baked...

My December is like an unstable bipolar snow-dome in the hands of a crazed toddler. 
On the first of the month, snow always falls.  It adds to the concave and beautiful drifts that October gave us, and hides the muddy mess that November gifts us. On the 2nd, the snow continues to fall.  The 3rd and 4th are snow filled days, fluffy iridescent flakes coating everything in sight. On the 5th the fluffy flakes turn...

                                        
   Water, blankets, and feed, Amal repeated to himself. The inn was bursting with everyone from the Census. His father, Benaiah, ran the inn. Everyone had to help, and Amal was told to take care of all of the animals. The stable was crowded, with everyone’s camels, donkeys, and horses, too many animals for the space they had. Amal walked...

    The icy wind rattles the window panes, howling outside, signaling the arrival of the winter. This year it arrives suddenly, quickly ushering out the prolonged fall, with drizzling rain replaced with snow, leaves replaced with frost, brown everywhere covered up with dazzling white, sparkling, gleaming in the few short hours of sunlight. The night is beautiful, with stars glimmering in the sky like silent sentries of the sun, shedding light on the world while the sun sleeps. During the short...

I've never liked the cold, that biting sensation, ringing throughout your vulnerable frame. The pulsating waves of biting agony. It's almost reminiscent of isolation, alone, scared, hairs defiantly erecting like alert meerkats. Hence why I love Christmas. Now I know what you're thinking, if you hate the cold, why would you like Chrsitmas? Well, it's different over here. It's the same every year, stepping over melted tar, under the beating energy of the fireball looming in the sky. Whilst the...

    Esther has kidnapped me from the party, but I am not worried. Instead, I eat the Smarties she keeps in her glove box and let my eyes droop sedately to the crackly, indie-esque music coming out of her faulty car speakers. 
    “The city that never sleeps,” I say, both earnest and ironic, as we drive past the casino, which declares its presence in glaring, multi-colored lights. But I do believe in it now, as I look at her from my...

We haven’t talked in a couple of months. I mean really talked, not just saying hi in passing. I miss you. I really miss you, and I didn’t know it would be this hard. 
 
I want to talk to you so bad that it seems like I can focus on nothing else sometimes. 
 
But I don’t, I just sit there and watch you, and as soon as you turn towards me, I look away and try to focus...

40 floors above the ground, I can see all the glory of Malaysia from my bedroom window: a colourful blend of bright green trees, little red houses, and tall, glass buildings winking merrily in the light of the sun. If you were to stick your head out the window, the first thing that would hit you is the heat; the air in Malaysia is heavy with humidity, and there is not much wind. Birds would dart past you in a...

Time felt endless from each step I took. The deep snow reached above my 6-year-old knees and the slush that rubbed against it was the worst sensation I ever felt. My eyes grew wearier and I grew tired. The numbness pounded against my fingers that tightly clutched around the plastic bag from Safeway, almost causing it to go blue. Each time I couldn't, I was pulled swiftly by my Mom's hand, tugging me to go forward even if I knew...

    Foreign tastes flood my mouth. Expecting the traditional dry turkey and creamy white mashed potatoes, I am instead met with an equally as dry duck and peculiar instructions to add cranberry sauce then to proceed by wrapping the two together in a tortilla. The mixture of flavors chokes me, but I swallow them down with a swig of ice-cold water desperately trying not to draw an ounce of attention to myself. The people around me could be speaking a foreign language for all I know; not like I would be able to hear them since being exiled to this so-called children's table. The boredom is no good and I can’t help my mind but to imagine what I would be...