December is Sagittarius until the solstice and Capricorn from the solstice on. People born from 1 to 21 December are Sagittarius and people born from 22 to 31 December are Capricorn. The Sun enters Capricorn at the December solstice, the shortest day of the northern year, so the sign of long-term effort begins at the exact moment the light starts to return.

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The moment the Sun enters Capricorn, for each birth year

Universal Time (UTC). Add or subtract the time zone of the birthplace.

The decans of December

Sagittarius to the 21st, Capricorn from the 22nd

Sagittarius is mutable fire, ruled by Jupiter: adventurous, hopeful, philosophical and impatient with limits. Capricorn is cardinal earth, ruled by Saturn: disciplined, responsible and realistic about what things cost. Jupiter expands and Saturn contracts, and December contains both. The festive, generous first three weeks of the month suit one sign, and the sober counting-up at the end of the year suits the other.

21 December or 22 December

The start of Capricorn is the solstice, and it is the most evenly split boundary after February's. In the birth years 1940 to 2040 the Sun entered Capricorn on 22 December in 51 years and on 21 December in 50, by Universal Time. A birthday on the 21st or the 22nd can be either sign. The year-by-year table gives the minute of the solstice, and the time zone of the birthplace has to be added or subtracted before comparing it with the time on a birth certificate.

December Sagittarius and December Capricorn

December Sagittarians are described as cheerful, direct and freedom-loving, natural travellers and teachers who dislike being tied down and who recover quickly from setbacks. December Capricorns, including everyone born between Christmas and New Year, are more reserved: ambitious, loyal, dry-witted and willing to wait years for a result. Astrology sees the first as the sign that sets the goal and the second as the sign that reaches it.

December in the Calendar and the Sky

December was the tenth month of the Roman calendar and kept the name when it became the twelfth. It has three birthstones, turquoise, tanzanite and zircon, and its flowers are the narcissus and the holly. The Geminid meteor shower, often the richest of the year, peaks around 13 and 14 December. The solstice is midwinter in the north and midsummer in the south, where a December Capricorn is born on the longest days of the year.

Frequently asked

What zodiac sign is December?

Sagittarius from 1 to 21 December and Capricorn from 22 to 31 December.

Is 21 December Sagittarius or Capricorn?

It depends on the year. The Sun entered Capricorn on 21 December in 50 of the years from 1940 to 2040 and on 22 December in the other 51.

What is the December birthstone?

December has three: turquoise, tanzanite and zircon. Its flowers are the narcissus and the holly.

December birthdays, day by day

The two signs

Zodiac signs, month by month