This is what we're celebrating or observing This Week
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December 24, 2017
Apollo 8 crew becomes first humans to orbit around the moon, broadcasting live pictures during a Christmas Eve Broadcast (1968) - 12/24
Christmas Eve - Dec. 24
Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin Australia, killing 71 people (1974) - Dec. 24
Howard Hughes (American aviator, industrialist, film producer/director and philanthropist) is born (1905) - Dec. 24
Libya declares its independence from the UK and proclaims Idris I King of Libya (1951) - Dec. 24
Johns Hopkins (wealthy entrepreneur and philanthropist) died in Baltimore, MD without any heirs (1873) - 12/24
Queensland Australia is deluged by Tropical Cyclone Tasha and a monsoonal trough that has resulted in over 200,000 people being affected (2010) - Dec. 24
Kathryn's Hubby, Richard, is born (1944) - Dec. 24
Vasco de Gama (Portugese Explorer) dies from malaria in Kochi India (1524) - 12/24
Eggnog Day - 12/24
Hanukkah (Jewish Holiday aka the Festival of Lights) an 8-day observance commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (2016) - 12/24
Last Minute Shoppers Day - 12/24
December 25, 2017
Baldwin I of Jerusalem is crowned as the first King of Jerusalem in Bethlehem by patriarch, Dagobert of Pisa (1100) - Dec. 25
Charlemagne (King of the Franks, son of the Pippin the Short) is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome (800) - Dec. 25
Charlie Chaplin (Silent film legend) dies at age 88 in Switzerland (1977) - Dec. 25
Christmas (aka Christmas Day or Christmastide) annual Christian holiday that marks and honors the birth of Jesus of Nazareth (250) - 12/25
Northwest Airlines flight 253 (290 aboard) is the target of a failed bombing attempt when a passenger attempted to set off plastic explosives sewn to his underwear (2009) - 12/25
Christmast Truce of WWI - When enemy combatant soldiers ceased hostilities and even exchanged small gifts with each other (1914) - 12/25
Clara Barton (American teacher, nurse and humanitarian credited for organizing the American Red Cross) is born in Oxford, MA (1821) - Dec. 25
Hirohito (aka Emperor Showa) is proclaimed emperor of Japan upon the death of his father (1926) - Dec. 25
Sir Isaac Newton (English physicist, mathematician, astronomer) is born at Woolsthorpe Manor in England (1642 O.S.) - Dec. 25
James Brown (American entertainer referred to as the Godfather of Soul) died from congestive heart failure due to pneumonia (2006) - Dec. 25
Nicolae and Eleana Ceausescu (Romanian Communist leaders) are executed for crimes of genocide in Targoviste (1989) - Dec. 25
Princess Alexandra of Kent, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (youngest granddaughter of George V and Queen Mary) is born in London (1936) - Dec. 25
Queen of England makes her first Christmas Speech (1952) - Dec. 25
Robert Ripley (American cartoonist, entrepreneur creator of the world famous Ripley's Believe It or Not!) is born (1890) - Dec. 25
Rod Serling (American screenwriter best known for his TV series, The Twilight Zone) is born in Syracuse, NY (1924) - Dec. 25
Roger II of Sicily is crowned as the first King of Sicily in Palermo (1130) - 12/25
Stephen I of Hungary is officially recognized by Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, as the first Christian King of Hungary (1000) - 12/25
William I of England (aka William the Conqueror) is crowned King at Westminster Abbey (1066) - Dec. 25
December 26, 2017
Boxing Day (celebrated in the Commonwealth of Nations) honors the tradition of giving gifts to the less fortunate members of society - 12/26
Indian Ocean earthquake and Tsunami kills over 225,000 people in eleven countries (2004) - 12/26
Kwanzaa (week long holiday celebrating Afrian heritage is marked by participants lighting a kinara) - Dec. 26 thru Jan. 1
Lothar (a low pressure system that resulted in a violent extratopical cyclone) sweeps across Central Europe killing over 100 (1999) - 12/26
Radium (a radioactive chemical element) is discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in pitchblende from Czech Republic (1898) - 12/26
Saint Stephens Day (Feast of St. Stephen) commemorates the first Christian Martyr - 12/26
Candy Cane Day - 12/26
Coffee Percolator Day - 12/26
Jon Benet Ramsey (American child beauty pagent contestant) is found dead in her family's basement at age 6 (1996) - Dec. 26
Search for Tomorrow (American soap opera 1st aired in 1951) airs its final episode (1986) - Dec. 26
Time Magazine Man of the Year is given to a non-human for the first time (1982) - Dec. 26
Wren Day (celebrated in Ireland, Isle of Man and Wales) celebrates the replacement of Winter (Wren on Holly) with Spring (Robin on Birch) - Dec. 26
December 27, 2017
Apollo 8 splashes down into the Pacific Ocean ending the first orbital manned mission to the Moon (1968) - Dec. 27
Christmas Bank Holiday (UK) - 12/27
Benazir Bhutto (Prime Minister of Pakistan) is assassinated by a suicide bomber (2007) - Dec. 27
Fruitcake Day - 12/27
Hagia Sophia (third church of the former patriarchal basilica) is completed and inaugurated by Justinian I and the patriarch Eutychius (537) - Dec. 27
Radiation from SGR 1806-20 (a magnetar, neutron star) explosion finally reaches Earth in the brightest extrasolar event witnessed (2004) - 12/27
December 28, 2017
Call a Friend Day - 12/28
Elizabeth Jordan Carr (First "test tube baby" born in the US) is born (1981) - Dec. 28
Holiday "Breather" Day - 12/28
Iowa becomes the 29th state to join the Union (1846) - Dec. 28
John C. Calhoun (American Vice-President under Adams and Jackson) becomes the first VP to resign his office (1832) - Dec. 28
Mary II (Queen of England, Ireland and Scotland who reigned jointly with her husband and first cousin William III and II) dies of smallpox (1694) - Dec. 28
Messina Italy is nearly destroyed by an earthquake that kills between 60-75,000 people (1908) - 12/28
Tay Bridge Disaster occurs when the first Tay Rail bridge in Scotland collapses during a storm while a train was passing over it, killing 75 people (1879) - 12/28
Westminster Abbey (site of coronation and burial for British Monarchs) is consecrated a week before Edward the Confessor's death (1065) - Dec. 28
Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years (2000) - Dec. 28
Jerry Orbach (American Tony Award-winning actor) dies from prostate cancer at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in NYC (2004) - Dec. 28
Return a Gift for Cash Day - 12/28
December 29, 2017
Eastern Air Lines (Flight 401) crashes on its approach to Miami International Airport killing 101 people aboard (1972) - Dec. 29
Enjoy ESP Day - 12/29
Ice Skating Day - 12/29
Mongolia declares independence from the Qing Empire (last ruling dynasty of China - 1911) - Dec. 29
Saint Thomas a Becket (Archbishop of Canterbury) is assassinated, while knelt in prayer, inside Canterbury Cathedral (Canterbury, England) by King Henry II's men (1170) - Dec. 29
Texas is admitted into the Union as the 28th state (1845) - Dec. 29
December 30, 2017
Battle of Wakefield (Battle between York and Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses) in which Edmund, Duke of York's second son, is murdered (1460) - 12/30
Day Before New Year's Eve Day - 12/30
Sadam Hussein is hanged in Iraq on the first day of Eid ul-Adha, despite his wish to be shot (2006) - Dec. 30
December 31, 2017
Champagne Day - 12/31
New Year's Eve - 12/31
Resolution Day - Dec. 31
Hogmany (an Auld Year's Night Celebration held in Scotland) begins on New Years Eve - 12/31
Times Square New Year's Eve crystal ball drops for the first time (1907) - Dec. 31
World Peace Meditation/Healing Day - Dec. 31
Boris Yeltsin announces his resignation as President of Russia on Russian Television (1999) - Dec. 31
Farthing coin is no longer considered legal tender in Great Britain (1960) - Dec. 31
Make Up You Mind Day - 12/31
Manhattan Bridge (suspension bridge that crosses the East River in NYC) is opened (1909) - Dec. 31
Taipei 101 (101-floor landmark skyscraper in Taipei) opens as the world's tallest skyscraper (2004) - Dec. 31
Times Square holds its first New Year's Eve celebration (1904) - Dec. 31
