What are the important days in December?

The month of December brings many holidays, feasts, and happenings! Learn all about the 12th month on the calendar, a short history, and what the month is known for! From St. Nicholas Day to the Geminid Meteor Shower to Christmas, it’s a busy month of the year. Just remember to grab a cup of cocoa and relax when you can. 

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The Month of December

December is the 12th month (and last month) in our modern-day Gregorian calendar (as it was in the preceding Julian calendar).

However, it was originally the 10th month of the Roman calendar (until 153 BC). Hence, “December” comes from the Latin word decem, meaning “ten.”

Back in Roman times, the calendar only had ten months and began with March! The winter period was not even assigned months because it was not an active time for military, agriculture, or civil life.

The month of December originally consisted of 30 days. When January and February were added to the calendar (around 700 BCE), December was shortened to 29 days. Then, in the subsequent Julian calendar, two days were added to December, making it 31 days long.

Learn about all twelve months’ names.

December Calendar

  • December 6 is Saint Nicholas Day. St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, inspires traditions around the world from hunts for presents to stockings or shoes filled with sweets.
  • December 7 is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
  • December 13 is St. Lucia’s Day, which has long been associated with festivals of light. Before the Gregorian calendar reform in 1752, her feast day occurred on the shortest day of the year (hence the saying “Lucy light, Lucy light, shortest day and longest night”).
  • December 15 is Bill of Rights Day.
  • December 17 is Wright Brothers Day.
  • December 18 marks the beginning of Hanukkah.
  • December 21 is the Winter Solstice—the astronomical first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and first day of summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
  • December 25 is Christmas Day, a Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Learn more about American Christmas traditions.
  • December 26 is Boxing Day (Canada, UK) and the first day of Kwanzaa.
  • On the last evening of the year, December 31, kiss the person you hope to keep kissing! Discover New Years traditions from around the world.

“Just for Fun” Holidays

Did you know that December is National Pear Month? Celebrate these fun holidays this month:

  • Dec. 11: International Mountain Day
  • Dec. 13: National Violin Day
  • Dec. 13: National Day of the Horse
  • Dec. 16: Underdog Day
  • Dec. 26: National Candy Cane Day

What are the important days in December?

December Moon & Astronomy

Winter Solstice

The month of December brings the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the shortest day of the year (the day with the least amount of daylight). 

In 2022, the solstice occurs on Wednesday, December 21. See our Winter Solstice page to learn more about the first day of winter.

Full Cold Moon

December’s full Moon, the full Cold Moon, appears on Wednesday, December 7, reaching peak illumination at 11:09 P.M. EST. Read more about the Full Cold Moon.

Geminid Meteor Shower

Look skyward on the night of December 13 after 9 P.M. for a chance to catch a glimpse of the Geminid meteors. The Geminid meteor shower is the most active shower of the year.

This year, the peak of the meteor shower meets a waning gibbous Moon, meaning that the sky will still be affected somewhat by the light of the Moon. If the sky is clear and temperatures aren’t too chilly, it’s still worth venturing outside to try to see the Geminids.

Check out our Geminid Meteor Shower page for more info, and see our Meteor Showers Guide for dates and viewing tips.

What are the important days in December?

Recipes for the Season

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat,
Please put a penny in the old man’s hat;
If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do,
If you haven’t got a ha’penny, God bless you!
—Beggar’s rhyme.

Christmas always falls in December. To help you prepare for this holiday season, check out our excellent recipe collections below.

  • See our Christmas Dinner Recipe page for all kinds of delicious Christmas recipes—from drinks to dessert.
  • Speaking of dessert, see our Christmas Dessert Recipes page to satisfy your sweet tooth. 
  • Going to a party? You may enjoy our Christmas Appetizer Recipes and Christmas Party Recipes.
  • Baking cookies for friends and family? Check out our favorite cookie recipes and then wash them down with George Washington’s Christmas Eggnog! 
  • Baking with kids? Check out our list of Christmas Cookie Recipes for Kids.

What are the important days in December?

Gardening

If you haven’t done so already, be sure to prepare your garden for winter.

Planning on getting a Christmas tree? See our advice for choosing and caring for a Christmas tree!

If you enjoy holiday plants, here are tips on plant care for poinsettia, Christmas cactus, and amaryllis.

As houseplants are growing more slowly in December light, cut down on watering by half until active growth resumes in the spring. Hold off on fertilizing as well. See tips for growing houseplants and check out our Growing Guides for Aloe vera, spider plants, jade plants, and more houseplants.

Everyday Advice

To help you with this holiday season, check out some of our tips and fun crafts:

  • The Holiday Table: Setting and Decorating
  • Holiday Cooking and Cleaning Checklist
  • Christmas Tree Care Tips
  • Make Your Own Holiday Candle 

What are the important days in December?
Tanzanite, one of December’s birthstones

December Birthstone

December’s traditional birthstone is turquoise. It is considered a symbol of good fortune and success. Zircon and tanzanite are also considered to be December birthstones. See the December Birthstone page to learn more.

What are the important days in December?

December Birth Flower

December’s birth flowers are the holly (Ilex aquifolium) and the paperwhite Narcissus (Euphorbia pulcherrima)—a relative of the daffodil with lovely white blooms.

Learn more about the December Birth Flowers and what they symbolize. 

The Zodiac

December’s Zodiac signs are:

  • Sagittarius: November 23–December 21
  • Capricorn: December 22–January 19

Folklore for the Season

Know the weather before you head off to that Christmas event or travel to grandmother’s house. We’ve posted the long range weather for December and January.

  • December changeable and mild, the whole winter will remain a child.
  • Thunder in December presages fine weather.
  • Frost on the shortest day is said to indicate a severe winter.
  • December cold, with snow, brings rye everywhere.

Odd Moments This Month in History

December 14, 1807: Space Invader

At 6:30 a.m. on this day in 1807, residents from Vermont to Connecticut looked up at the sky and saw a red fireball. About two-thirds the size of a full Moon, it raced across the heavens, broke apart, and fell to earth in at least six areas of Weston (now Easton), Trumbull, and Fairfield, Connecticut. Whizzing sounds were heard close to the impact sites, and three sonic booms were heard as far as 40 miles away. The entire event took about 30 seconds.

Upon hearing the news a few days later, Yale professor Benjamin Silliman, accompanied by his colleague, professor James Kingsley, traveled to the impact area to talk to witnesses, examine impact sites, and collect specimens (including some that enterprising townsfolk were selling as souvenirs). Silliman confirmed that it had been a meteorite—the first officially recorded in the New World.

Meteorites, rocks that fell from space, were a concept slowly gaining acceptance in Europe, but their study was still a relatively new science. In an article in the Connecticut Herald published on December 29, Silliman and Kingsley described the Weston event. The news rapidly spread to other newspapers, and accounts were published in literary and philosophical journals. Later, Silliman performed a chemical analysis of the rocks and published a revised report. The findings were discussed by notable scientific organizations in Philadelphia, London, and Paris. Still, there were skeptics about the idea of meteorites, including U.S. president Thomas Jefferson, who was said to have remarked, “It is easier to believe that two Yankee professors could lie than to admit that stones could fall from heaven.” 

Fun Fact: Silliman’s and Kingsley’s Weston meteorite fragments were the first cataloged items in the Yale meteorite collection, which is the oldest in the United States.

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Comments

Add a Comment

maurice nadon (not verified)

2 years ago

Do you have a monthly calendar similar to a regular calendar with days squared off able to write notes and appts. etc that can be printed on a sheet landscape-wise every month?
Please advise if you already have and where to get it. With whatever else (symbols) you wish to put in the daily box but also space to write in.
Please reply.
Thank you.

  • Reply

The Editors

2 years ago

In reply to calendar by maurice nadon (not verified)

Hi Maurice, We have an “Engagement Calendar” which lies flat and gives you plenty of space to jot down notes and assignments.  We also have a monthly wall calendar.  See samples here: https://store.almanac.com/calendars/

What is celebrated every December?

Christmas, the holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, is celebrated by a majority of Christians on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar.

Is December 12 a special day?

Famous birthdays include Frank Sinatra, Jennifer Connelly, and Mayim Bialik. December 12 also marks National Ding-A-Ling Day, National Gingerbread House Day, and National Poisettia Day.

Why 1st December is important?

World AIDS Day is observed on December 1 to raise awareness about HIV and a call to move towards ending the HIV epidemic.

Which day is celebrated on 24 December?

Christmas Eve, which is the day before Christmas Day, is celebrated in many countries worldwide. It is a Christian observance that falls on December 24 in the Gregorian calendar.