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December is the twelfth and final month of the year in the
Julian Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (give ...
and Gregorian calendars and is also the last of seven months to have a length of 31 days. December got its name from the Latin word ''decem'' (meaning
ten Ten, TEN or 10 may refer to: * 10, an even natural number following 9 and preceding 11 * one of the years 10 BC, AD 10, 1910 and 2010 * October, the tenth month of the year Places * Mount Ten, in Vietnam * Tongren Fenghuang Airport (IATA code ...
) because it was originally the tenth month of the year in the calendar of Romulus which began in March. The winter days following December were not included as part of any month. Later, the months of January and February were created out of the monthless period and added to the beginning of the calendar, but December retained its name.
Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...
, ''
Saturnalia Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple ...
'', tr. Percival Vaughan Davies (New York: Columbia University Press, 1969), book I, chapters 12–13, pp. 89–95.
In Ancient Rome, as one of the four Agonalia, this day in honour of Sol Indiges was held on December 11, as was Septimontium. Dies natalis (birthday) was held at the temple of
Tellus Tellus is a Latin word meaning "Earth" and may refer to: * An alternative name for the planet Earth * Tellus of Athens, a citizen of ancient Athens who was thought to be the happiest of men * Tellus Mater or Terra Mater, the ancient Roman earth mo ...
on December 13,
Consualia The Consualia or ''Consuales Ludi'' was the name of two ancient Roman festivals in honor of Consus, a tutelary deity of the harvest and stored grain. ''Consuales Ludi'' harvest festivals were held on August 21,Plutarch. "Life if Romulus", in ''P ...
was held on December 15,
Saturnalia Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple ...
was held December 17–23,
Opiconsivia The Opiconsivia (or Opeconsiva or Opalia) was an ancient Roman religious festival held August 25 in honor of Ops ("Plenty"), also known as Opis, a goddess of agricultural resources and wealth. The festival marked the end of harvest, with a mirro ...
was held on December 19, Divalia was held on December 21,
Larentalia The Roman festival of Larentalia was held on 23 December but was ordered to be observed twice a year by Augustus; by some supposed to be in honour of the Lares, a kind of domestic ''genii'', or divinities, worshipped in houses, and esteemed the gua ...
was held on December 23, and the dies natalis of Sol Invictus was held on December 25. These dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. The Anglo-Saxons referred to December–January as
Ġēolamonaþ Ġēolamōnaþ or Ȝēolamōnaþ (modern English: ''Yule month'') was the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of both December and January. The Anglo-Saxon scholar Bede explains in his treatise '' De temporum ratione'' (The Reckoning of Time) that th ...
(modern English: " Yule month"). The French Republican Calendar contained December within the months of Frimaire and Nivôse.


Astronomy

December contains the winter solstice in the
Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
, the day with the fewest daylight hours, and the
summer solstice The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...
in the Southern Hemisphere, the day with the most daylight hours (excluding polar regions in both cases). December in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent to June in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the astronomical winter is traditionally 21 December or the date of the solstice. Meteor showers occurring in December are the Andromedids (September 25 – December 6, peaking around November 9), the
Canis-Minorids The Canis-Minorids, also called the Beta Canis Minorids, are a meteor shower that arises near the fifth-magnitude star 11 Canis Minoris. They were discovered in 1964 by Keith Hindley, who investigated their trajectory A trajectory or flight ...
(December 4 – December 15, peaking around December 10–11), the
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(December 12 to December 23, peaking around December 16), the
Delta Cancrids The Delta Cancrids is a medium strength meteor shower lasting from December 14 to February 14, the main shower from January 1 to January 24. The radiant is located in the constellation of Cancer, near Delta Cancri Delta Cancri (δ Cancr ...
(December 14 to February 14, the main shower from January 1 to January 24, peaking on January 17), the Geminids (December 13–14), the
Monocerotids The Monocerotids refers to two separate meteor showers originating from the constellation of Monoceros. The Alpha Monocerotids The Alpha Monocerotids is a meteor shower active from 15 to 25 November, with its peak occurring on 21 or 22 November. ...
(December 7 to December 20, peaking on December 9. This shower can also start in November), the
Phoenicids The Phoenicids are a minor meteor shower, first noticed by observers in New Zealand, Australia, the Indian Ocean, and South Africa during an outburst of approximately 100 meteors an hour that occurred during December 1956. Like other meteor shower ...
(November 29 to December 9, with a peak occurring around 5/6 December), the Quadrantids (typically a January shower but can also start in December), the
Sigma Hydrids Sigma Hydrids are faint, minor meteor shower with peak on 9 December. Zenithal Hourly Rate, ZHR is 3-5 and population index is 3. They are active from December 3 to 20. Sigma hydrids were discovered by Richard E. McCrosky and Annette Posen. Re ...
(December 4–15), and the Ursids (December 17-to December 25/26, peaking around December 22).


Astrology

*The zodiac signs for the month of December are Sagittarius (until December 21) and Capricorn (December 22 onwards).The Earth passes the junction of the signs at 10:02 UT/GMT December 21, 2020, and will pass it again at 15:59 UT/GMT December 21, 2021.. Signs in UT/GMT for 1950–2030.


December symbols

December's birth flower is the
narcissus Narcissus may refer to: Biology * ''Narcissus'' (plant), a genus containing daffodils and others People * Narcissus (mythology), Greek mythological character * Narcissus (wrestler) (2nd century), assassin of the Roman emperor Commodus * Tiberiu ...
. December's birthstones are the turquoise, zircon, and tanzanite.


Observances

''This list does not necessarily imply either official status or general observance.''


Non-Gregorian observances: 2021 dates

(All Baháʼí, Islamic, and Jewish observances begin at the sundown prior to the date listed, and end at sundown of the date in question unless otherwise noted.) *
List of observances set by the Baháʼí calendar This table is determined by when the March Equinox falls. It fell on March 20 from 2018 to 2021 and will fall on March 21 in 2022–2023. All Baha'i observances begin at the sundown prior to the date listed, and end at sundown of the date in questi ...
*
List of observances set by the Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese holidays are an essential part of harvests or prayer offerings. The most important Chinese holiday is the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival), which is also celebrated in overseas ethnic Chinese communities (for example in ...
* List of observances set by the Hebrew calendar * List of observances set by the Islamic calendar * List of observances set by the Solar Hijri calendar


Month-long observances

*In Catholic tradition, December is the Month of the Advent of Christ. *National Egg Nog Month (United States) *
National Impaired Driving Prevention Month National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
(United States) *National Fruit Cake Month (United States) *National Pear Month (United States) * No Gender December ( International)


Movable observances: 2021 dates

*See also Movable Western Christian observances *See also Movable Eastern Christian observances Tuesday immediately following fourth Thursday of November: November 30 * Giving Tuesday ( United States) (can sometimes fall in December) First Friday: December 3 * Farmer's Day ( Ghana) * Gospel Day ( Marshall Islands) First Sunday: December 5 * Good Neighborliness Day ( Turkmenistan) *
Sindhi Cultural Day Sindhi Cultural Day ( sd, سنڌي ثقافتي ڏھاڙو) is a popular Sindhi cultural festival. It is celebrated with traditional enthusiasm to highlight the centuries-old rich culture of Sindh. The day is celebrated each year in the firs ...
(
Sindhi diaspora The Sindhi diaspora mainly refers to the descendants of ethnic Sindhi people who emigrated from the historical Sind province of British India before the Independence of Pakistan, these people are not a part of Pakistani diaspora as they emigrat ...
) Second Monday: December 13 *
Green Monday Green Monday is an online retail industry term similar to Cyber Monday. The term was coined by Shopping.com, an eBay company, in 2007 to describe the best eCommerce sales day in December, usually the second Monday of December. After doing some ...
* National Tree Planting Day (Malawi) December 15, unless the date falls on a Sunday, then December 16: December 15 *
Koninkrijksdag ''Koninkrijksdag'' ( pap, Dia di Reino, en, Kingdom Day, West Frisian: ''Keninkryksdei'') is the commemoration of the signing of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 15 December 1954 in Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and S ...
( Kingdom of the Netherlands) Winter Solstice: December 21 *
Blue Christmas (holiday) Blue Christmas (also called the Longest Night) in the Western Christian tradition, is a day in the Advent season marking the longest night of the year. On this day, some churches in Western Christian denominations hold a church service that honou ...
* Brumalia ( Ancient Rome) * Dongzhi Festival ( Asia) *
Global Orgasm Global Orgasm was an action originally scheduled for 22 December 2006 by the author and activist couple of Donna Sheehan and Paul Reffell to coincide with the end of winter solstice. The idea was for participants throughout the world to have an or ...
*
Korochun ''Koročun'' or ''Kračun'' (see Korochun#Names and etymology, other variants below) is one of the names of Slavic mythology, Slavic pagan holiday Koliada. In modern usage, it may refer to the winter solstice in certain Eastern European languages, ...
( Slavic) * Midsummer in the Southern Hemisphere. (
Contemporary Paganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...
) * Sanghamitta Day ( Theravada Buddhism) *
Shalako Shalako is a series of dances and ceremonies conducted by the Native American Zuni people for the Zuni people at the winter solstice, typically following the harvest. The Shalako ceremony and feast has been closed to non-native peoples since 1 ...
( Zuni) * Yaldā ( Iran) * Yule in the Northern Hemisphere (
Contemporary Paganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...
) *
Ziemassvētki Ziemassvētki (), also Ziemsvētki is an annual festival in Latvia which observes the winter solstice and birth of Jesus Christ. Latvians around the world celebrate it from 24 to 25 December. 24 December is Ziemassvētku vakars ( Christmas Eve, l ...
(
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
) December 22, unless that date is a Sunday, in which case it's moved to the 23rd: December 22 *
Forefathers' Day Forefathers' Day is a holiday celebrated in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on December 22. It is a commemoration of the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on December 21, 1620. It was introduced in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1769. ...
(
Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as ...
) December 26, unless that day is a Sunday, in which case the 27th: December 27 *
Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...
( Commonwealth of Nations) **
Day of Good Will Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the twelve Days of Christmas, second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known a ...
( South Africa and Namibia) ** Family Day ( Vanuatu) **
Thanksgiving (Solomon Islands) The people of the Solomon Islands observe these holidays nationally. Public holidays * 1 January: New Year's Day * Variable Friday: Good Friday * Variable Saturday: Holy Saturday * Variable Monday: Easter Monday * Variable Monday: Whit ...
**Start of
Boxing Week Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...


Fixed observances

*November 25 – December 10:
16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence The Global 16 Days Campaign is an international campaign to challenge violence against women and girls. The campaign runs every year from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Righ ...
* December 1 ** Battle of the Sinop Day ( Russia) ** Bifocals at the Monitor Day (
unofficial {{Short pages monitor