December

This article is about the month. For other uses, see December (disambiguation).

"Dec." redirects here. For other uses, see Dec.

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December (ⁱ/diːˈsɛmbər/ dee-SEM-bər) is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars. It is one of seven months with the length of 31 days.

December in the first month of meteorological winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, December is the seasonal equivalent to June in the Northern hemisphere, which is the first month of summer. December is the month with the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest daylight hours of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.

December starts on the same day of the week as September every year and ends on the same day of the week as April every year.

History

December, from the Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry

December was originally the tenth month of the year in the Roman calendar until a monthless winter period was divided between January and February. It gets its name from the Latin word "decem" which means tenth. However, when the Romans added January and February to the calendar, it became the twelfth month. The name remained the same however.

Events in December

A Christmas market in Dresden

• Day of Restoration of Independence of Portugal (December 1)
• Union Day of Romania (December 1)
• World AIDS Day (December 1)
• National Day of United Arab Emirates (December 2)
• Sinterklaas in the Netherlands (December 5)
• Father's Day (King's Birthday) in Thailand (December 5)
• Independence Day in Finland (December 6)
• Constitution Day in Spain (December 6)
• Saint Nicholas Day in Greece (December 6)
• Pearl Harbor Day in the United States (December 7)
• Fukuoka Marathon is held on first Sunday in December.
• Día de la Madre en Panamá (Mother's Day) in Panama. (December 8)
• Day of the Mary Immaculate Conception. (December 8)
• Constitution Day in Romania. (December 8)
• In the Ásatrú religion, Egil Skallagrimsson's Day (December 9) is a day of remembrance for the Viking hero.
• Nobel Prizes awarded (December 10) on the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.
• Human Rights Day (December 10)
• Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe, or Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in Mexico (December 12)
• Independence Day (Jamhuri Day) in Kenya (December 12)
• National Day of Kingdom of Bahrain (December 12)
• Saint Lucy (December 13)
• Honolulu Marathon is held on second Sunday in December.
• Monkey Day (December 14)
• Bill of Rights Day (United States). (December 15)
• Zamenhof Day (December 15)
• Victory day of Bangladesh (December 16)
• Day of Reconciliation in South Africa (December 16).
• Hannukah (December 20 in 2011)
• First day of winter (December 21)
• Solstice (called the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere) occurs on dates varying from December 20 to December 22 (in UTC). See also Yule
• Mother's Day in Indonesia (December 22)
• The Emperor's Birthday, a national holiday in Japan (December 23)
• Festivus (December 23)
• HumanLight (Humanist holiday), (December 23)
• Christmas Eve (December 24)
• Christmas (December 25)
• Boxing Day (December 26)
• Day of Goodwill (December 26)
• Kwanzaa (December 26 to January 1)
• Independence Day in Slovenia - Independence and Unity Day, (December 26)
• Proclamation Day in South Australia (December 28)
• Philippines – Rizal Day (December 30)
• New Year's Eve (December 31)
• Yule

December symbols

The poinsettia

• Its birth flower is the holly or poinsettia.
• Its birthstone is the blue turquoise or zircon, and the recently added tanzanite.
• Its Zodiac signs are Sagittarius (until December 21) and Capricorn (December 22 onwards).

See also

• Historical anniversaries
• Undecimber