# december (date)

the last month of a year, following the previous month and preceding the next

- Computed level: L14 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: emergence  ·  Arena: lexicon

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [time](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-time.dimension), [date](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-date.social), [part](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-part.relation), [follows](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-follows.sequential), [last](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-last.order), [month](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-month.temporal), [next](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-next.temporal), [previous](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-previous.temporal), [year](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-year.time), [precedes](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-precedes.temporal)

**Through:** time.dimension orders year.time into parts via part.relation, where month.temporal units are arranged sequentially so that follows.sequential and precedes.temporal identify the position before and after, with last.order marking the final one, and date.social anchoring it in collective observance

**Novel properties:**
- final position in annual sequence
- socially recognized temporal boundary
- sequential adjacency to both prior and next months

## Examples
- In 2023, New Year's Eve celebrations marked the end of December and the transition to January 1st. *(social)*
- The December 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) concluded in Glasgow before the month ended. *(institutions)*
- Retail sales in the U.S. spiked during December 2020 as measured by the Census Bureau’s monthly retail survey. *(economics)*

## Used by
- [christmas](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-christmas.holiday) (L19)
- [november](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-november.date) (L15)

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-december.date*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-december.date.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*