December is special for many reasons. In this month we observe different festivals, for example, Bodi Day (Buddhist), Yule (Pagan), Hanukkah (Jewish), Christmas (Christian) and Kwanzaa (African-American). We count down to year-end and then celebrate New Year’s Eve. In the northern hemisphere the first day of winter, the shortest day of the year, occurs on either December 21st or 22nd (the Solstice). South of the equator summer begins that same day and is the longest day of the year. A baker’s dozen facts about December follow:
- The name December comes from the Latin decem for “ten”, as it was the 10th month in the early Roman calendar. When Julius Caesar changed to the Julian calendar in 46 BC, he added January and February at the beginning of the calendar year and made December 31 days long. In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII introduced the now commonly used Gregorian calendar.
- December 15, 1791: the Bill of Rights came into effect and included the first ten amendments to the US constitution. In 1941 President Roosevelt proclaimed December 15th as Bill of Rights Day for people to fly the flag and reflect upon the significance of the amendments (Who can name them? The second: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”)
- December 30, 1803: the USA doubled in size through the Louisiana Purchase, acquiring a territory of 885,000 square m (2292,000 square km) from France at a cost of $15 million.
- Founded and endowed by Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prizes were first awarded on December 10th, 1901 on the fifth anniversary of his death. The six Prizes, awarded for intellectual achievement, are deemed the most prestigious in the world.
- December 11, 1901: Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first transatlantic radio signal from Cornwall, England to St. John’s, Newfoundland.
- December 17, 1903: brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first recorded flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft near Kitty Hawk NC, earning the reputation as the founders of modern aviation.
- December 6, 1917: a French munitions ship and a Norwegian steamship carrying relief supplies for the war effort collided in Halifax harbour. Reputedly the worst disaster in Canadian history, the Halifax Explosion killed up to 2000 people, injured 9,000 and levelled two square kilometres of the city.
- December 7, 1941: Japanese bombers launched a surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The day after, President Roosevelt asked Congress for a declaration of war against Japan, calling December 7 a “date which shall live in infamy.” The attack left 2403 Americans dead, 1178 wounded, and every battleship (9) damaged.
- December 1, 1955: in violation of segregation laws in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger, triggering a 381-day bus boycott led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
- December 15, 1964: Canada adopted a new national flag featuring a red maple leaf, a symbol of Canadian identity, on a white background with two red borders.
- December 3, 1967: Christiaan Barnard of South Africa performed the first human heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.
- December 1991 saw the collapse of the USSR: on December 25th Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation, the hammer-and-sickle flag was replaced by the pre-revolutionary red, white, and blue tricolor of Russia and, at midnight on December 31st, the Soviet Union was formally dissolved.
- Why is December 26th called Boxing Day? Ages ago servants who worked on Christmas Day were allowed to visit their families the next day; employers gave them boxes to take home containing gifts, bonuses and, sometimes, leftover food.
Please add your facts about December events in the comments below.
P.S. An additional fact: Glen and I will mark our _ _ th wedding anniversary on December 26.
Sources: Britannica.com, The Fact Site, History.com

Linda W says
You obviously did a lot of research for this post Pam. Very interesting!
Ken McLean says
Sad that second in importance only to free speech and freedom of religion was the right to bear arms!
Pam McPhail says
It’s interesting the pro-gun lobbyists emphasize the last part of the amendment rather than its beginning: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…”
Marie McLean says
I read that those who defend the possession of military assault style weapons say that they need them in case they need to rise up against an authoritarian government, so they see themselves as a militia.
Linda Richardson says
Perhaps that was some of the rationale used by the Jan 6th mob.
Marie McLean says
Interesting, Pam. Do you have any bone china for your anniversary?
Pam McPhail says
Thanks for letting me know the symbol of this anniversary, Marie. Because you attended our wedding, you can fill in the blank for the number of years. Our bone china resides in Vancouver — for every day use these years.
Linda Jean Richardson says
Although December has mostly become relegated to the commercialism, traditions and symbolism of Christmas, it is really interesting to read about all of the other important, historical events that have occurred during the last month of the year.
Ian Wallace says
Congratulations to Pam and Glen on their many years of wedded bliss! As the happy pair’s matrimony dates from Boxing Day, 19–, perhaps they could explain why the 26th December holiday is not celebrated in the USA, or at least in many parts of the Great Republic? My suggestion would be to replace the current Second Amendment with a declaration that 26 December would henceforth be a national US holiday, Boxing Day.
To Pam’s excellent list of historic December events may I add 25.XII.1971, the birth date of Justin Trudeau, the current Canadian prime minister?
December is one of the best months of the year! I would even add on 10 more days to prolong this enjoyable time, taking these days from one of the least delightful months, January.
Pam McPhail says
The US seems to celebrate the commercial connotation of Boxing Day, though not its traditional one. But replacing the second amendment with any celebration might benefit the nation.
Ten more days? Because I prefer saying hello to January, a new year full of new promise, rather than goodbye to December, I’d add days at the beginning instead of the end of the year.
Marilyn RB says
Pam, thanks for your informative post! I find it so intriguing that many of the world’s major religions hold some of their most important celebrations (festivals of light) in December, when the year’s shortest days and longest nights begin to turn towards the light with the Winter’s Solstice.
Al Frank says
As always, an entertaining and informative post.
With respect to Hanukkah, the 8 day holiday can begin as early as Nov. 28 and as late as Dec. 27, depending on the year. In 2013 it actually began on Thanksgiving and in 2024 it will end on Jan. 2. Usually, though, Hanukkah starts and ends sometime in December.
The Hebrew calendar depends upon the lunar cycle, meaning the dates of Hanukkah (and every Jewish holiday) will differ each year.
Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, celebrates both a military victory and a miracle. Perhaps best known for its proximity to Christmas, it is a minor Jewish holiday that no doubt has been elevated due to the commercialism of the season.
Wishing you and your readers a joyous and peaceful holiday season.
Pam McPhail says
Thank you, Al, for your enlightening comments about Hanukkah. I’d like to hear other details about this holiday when next we meet.
Nephew Rod says
On December 3, 1967, Barnard transplanted a heart from a 25-year-old woman fatally injured in a car accident into Lewis Washkansky, a 53-year-old South African grocer dying from chronic heart disease. Lung infection and pneumonia claimed Washkansky’s life 18 days later.
The very beginnings of an amazing journey in the treatment of end stage heart disease. I reviewed a patient in clinic last week who will be soon listed for his second heart transplant…..his first completed 38 years ago. Unlikely to be realized without pioneers like Washansky & Barnard.
Nephew Rod
Pam McPhail says
Thanks for elaborating on a fact, Rod. From 18 days to 38 years and counting: that’s an impressive evolution in cardiac surgery. Keep up your excellent work in the gift of living.