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December
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2005

December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days.

December begins (astrologically) with the sun in the sign of Sagittarius and ends in the sign of Capricorn. Astronomically speaking, the sun begins in the constellation of Ophiuchus, which is the only zodiacal constellation that is not counted as an astrological sign, and ends in the constellation of Sagittarius.

The name is from the Latin decem for "ten". December was the tenth month in the Roman calendar until a monthless winter period was divided between January and February.

Contents 1 Events 2 Trivia 3 Other names 4 See also 5 External links

Events

• The United Nations has designated December 10 as Human Rights Day.
• The solstice called the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere and the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere occurs on dates varying from 20 December to 23 December (in UTC). In the pagan wheel of the year the winter solstice is the time of Yule and the summer solstice is that of Litha.
• Christmas is celebrated as a holiday in much of the western world and is a religious day, second in importance only to Easter for Christians.

The holiday, which occurs on December 25, celebrates the birth of Jesus. Some countries (e.g. Denmark) celebrate Christmas on December 24.

• In Ireland, December 26 is called St. Stephen's Day and is a public holiday. In the Irish calendar the month is called Mí na Nollag (literally "The Month of Christmas") and is the middle month of the Winter season.
• In the United Kingdom, the weekday after December 25 is called Boxing Day and is a public holiday.
• In Canada, Boxing Day is also celebrated, always on December 26. Many retail stores sell their Christmas overstock at significant discounts on this day.
• The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah usually takes place in the month of December, but can occur in November.
• The holiday Festivus is sometimes celebrated on the 23rd.
• The weeklong African American holiday of Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 through January 1
• From the December 23 until the first Tuesday of January, the Philippines' Metropolitan Manila celebrates a film festival.

Trivia

• December always begins with the same day of the week as September.
• December's flower is the holly.
• December's birthstone is tanzinite

Other names

• In Finnish, December is called joulukuu, meaning "month of Christmas", since about the 18th century. Earlier it was called talvikuu, meaning "month of winter".
• In Irish, December is called Mí na Nollaig, meaning "month of Christmas".

• In the old Japanese calendar, the month is called Shiwasu (師走).

See also

• Historical anniversaries

External links

• Astronomy Answers article on the seasons

January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December

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