With the upcoming holidays soon to be upon us throughout December, I thought it would be fun to look around for some stock resources & other artistic things that may get some of us into a festive mood! I hope that these will inspire your art, or perhaps they'll even give you a tiny spark of holiday spirit. Most of all, I wish everyone at dA much happiness throughout the season.

As always, please adhere to each artist's rules of use before using any of the following pieces of artwork. Enjoy!

Midwinter (northern hempsphere): December 21
"The winter solstice occurs at the instant when the Sun's position in the sky is at its greatest angular distance on the other side of the equatorial plane from the observer. Depending on the shift of the calendar, the event of the winter solstice occurs some time between December 20 and December 23 each year in the northern hemisphere, and between June 20 and June 23 in the southern hemisphere, during either the shortest day or the longest night of the year, which is not to be confused with the darkest day or night or the day with the earliest sunset or latest sunrise." [Source]

Midwinter Resources:

Other Midwinter Goodies:

It is near Midwinter when several celebrations of light are observed in many cultures throughout the world. Such occasions as Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Eve occur this month...

Hanukkah: December 11 - 19
"Hanukkah (Hebrew: חנוכה‎, alt. Chanukah), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, and may occur from late November to late December on the Gregorian calendar." [Source]

Hanukkah Resources:

Other Hanukkah Goodies:

Christmas: December 25
"Christmas (IPA: /krɪsməs/), also referred to as Christmas Day or Christmastide, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that marks and honors the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. His birth has been determined by modern historians as having occurred between 7 and 2 BC." [Source]

Christmas Resources:

Other Christmas Goodies:

Kwanzaa: December 26 - January 1
"Kwanzaa, which will be celebrated for the 43rd time in 2008, was established by Dr. Maulana Karenga. The seven-day festival is secular, not religious, and aims to strengthen African cultural identity and community values while providing a spiritual alternative to the commercialism of Christmas. 'Kwanzaa' comes from the Swahili phrase 'matunda ya kwanza', meaning 'first fruits'." [Source]

Kwanzaa Resources:

Other Kwanzaa Goodies:

Boxing Day: December 26
"It was the day when people would give a present or Christmas box to those who had worked for them throughout the year. This is still done in Britain for postmen and paper-boys - though now the 'box' is usually given before Christmas, not after." Boxing Day is traditionally observed on the first weekday after Christmas. Not to imply any disrespect for Christmas, but I've chosen to use this spot to show the more modern, less religious side of this time of year. [Source]

Boxing Day Resources:

Other Boxing Day Goodies:

Modern New Year's Eve: December 29
"The New Year is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next year. Cultures that measure yearly calendars all have New Year celebrations." (Such as the Chinese New Year, which can take place anytime between January 21 and February 21.) [Source]

New Year Resources:

Other New Year Goodies:

Happy holiday season to all you fabulous deviants! I hope your celebrations are plentiful, safe and fun. Here's to another great year of your art at dA!

More deviantART Resource Providers:

dA Stockers: A - I
dA Stockers: J - R
dA Stockers: S - Z

Holiday Club:

*Holidays