December Holidays Around the World
December holidays around the world. These are holidays, festivals, observances, national days, food days, and celebrations in December.
Holidays are broken down into when the occur monthly. Some dates change year to year.
To see a listing, click the Holidays by Occurrence. Please see the individual observance for more information.
Holiday by Occurrence
December 2024 Featured Holidays
- Dec. 05: St. Nicholas Eve
- Dec. 08: Bodhi Day
- Dec. 13: Santa Lucia Day
- Dec. 21: Yule
- Dec. 25: Christmas
- Dec 25: Hanukkah
- Dec. 26: Kwanzaa
December Highlights
August 25: Opiconsivia: December 19: Opalia
Opiconsivia and Opalia were Ancient Roman festivals that honored Ops, also...
December 03: National Peppermint Latte Day
December 3 is National Peppermint Latte Day. Peppermint-flavored coffee...
December 04: National Cookie Day
December 4 is National Cookie Day. It was created in 1987 by the Blue Chip...
December 04: Wear Brown Shoes Day
December 4 is Wear Brown Shoes Day. This odd celebration is for donning...
December 04: World Wildlife Conservation Day
December 4 is World Wildlife Conservation Day. In 2012, US Secretary of...
December 05-06: St. Nicholas Eve | Sinterklaas Day
St. Nicholas Day is December 6th, but celebrations start the day before...
December 05: National Sachertorte Day
December 5 is National Sachertorte Day. Sachertorte or Sacher Torte is a...
December 07: National Cotton Candy Day
National Cotton Candy Day is celebrated on December 7. Cotton candy, also...
December 08: Bodhi Day
Bodhi Day is celebrated on December 8th in Japan. The Chinese version is...
December 09: National Pastry Day
December 9 is National Pastry Day. We pay tribute to the pastry today, both...
December 10: National Lager Day
December 10 is National Lager Day. Lager is a type of beer that is...
December 12-24: Yuletide Lads | Jólasveinar
The Yuletide Lads visit Icelandic homes from December 12-24. Iceland has...
December 13: Santa Lucia Day | Little Yule
Santa Lucia Day or Little Yule is celebrated on December 13. Santa Lucia...
December 14: National Screwdriver Day
December 14 is National Screwdriver Day. Not the tool but the cocktail is...
December 16-24: Las Posadas
Las Posadas is a nine-day Latin American celebration commemorating the...
December 17: National Maple Syrup Day
December 17 is National Maple Syrup Day. Poured over pancakes, waffles, and...
December 20: National Sangria Day
December 20th is National Sangria Day. Sangria is an alcoholic beverage...
December 21: Yule
Yule has been celebrated since the 4th century. This midwinter festival...
December 25: Christmas
Christmas is celebrated all over the world and in many different ways...
December 26-January 01: Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is an African-American holiday celebrating black heritage. It was...
December 26: Boxing Day
Boxing Day is on December 26. It originated in the United Kingdom back in...
December 27: National Fruitcake Day
December 27 is National Fruitcake Day. Fruitcake (or fruit cake) is cake...
December 28: Eat Vegetarian Day
December 28 is Eat Vegetarian Day. Eat Vegetarian Day is an odd title...
December 29: National Get on the Scales Day
National Get on the Scales Day seems cruel to have right after all the food...
December 30: Bacon Day
December 30 is Bacon Day. Created in 1997 by two Jewish gals, Danya “D”...
December 31, January 13: Silvesterchlausen
Silvesterchlausen is celebrated in Appenzell, Switzerland. It actually...
December 31: Hogmanay
Hogmanay, “Moon of the Hag,” is celebrated in Scotland as the last day of...
December Facts and Trivia
December is the twelfth month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian...
December: National Fruitcake Month
December is National Fruitcake Month. A whole month to celebrate a dense...
January 01: New Year’s Day
December 31st is New Year’s Eve and January 1st is New Year’s...
January 23 & December 01: National Pie Days
January 23 and December 1 are both National Pie Days. The...
Last 3 Thursdays before Christmas: Klöpfleinsnächte | Knocking Nights
In Germany, the three Thursday’s before Christmas are known as...
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Some holidays follow the lunar or other non-Georgian calendars and therefore fall in different months different years. Those events are listed in each month they may occur.
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