Holiday Calendar December 2008
December is here with the cold weather as a constant, DC just had first snow today, the Lighting of the National Christmas Tree Ceremony is behind us with president Bush in one of his last public appearances, Christmas decorations are popping all over town, Thanksgiving leftovers are long gone, and it is about time to publish the December 2008 holiday calendar.
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Is there a holiday we are missing? A note about a holiday you think is worth mentioning? A special holiday recipe you want to share? Feel free to comment.
| Date | Day | Holiday | Faith | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monday | World Aids Day 2008 \ A Day Without Art | Secular | LEAD-EMPOWER-DELIVER. Leadership is the theme for World AIDS Day 2007 and 2008, promoted with the campaigning slogan, "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise." Leadership encourages leaders at all levels to stop AIDS. Building on the 2006 theme of accountability, leadership highlights the discrepancy between the commitments that have been made to halt the spread of AIDS, and actions taken to follow them through. Leadership empowers everyone - individuals, organisations, governments - to lead in the response to AIDS. |
| 7 | Sunday | Hajj (start) | Muslim | The annual pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims should complete at least once in their lifetime. |
| 8 | Monday | Feast of the Immaculate Conception | Christian | Celebrated by Roman Catholics who remember Mary's conception as being without sin, therefore, immaculate. |
| 8 | Monday | Bodhi Day | Buddhist | On Bodhi day some Buddhists celebrate Gautama's attainment of enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Bodhgaya, India. |
| 8 | Monday | Eid-Ul-Adha \ Waqf al Arafat | Muslim | Festival of Sacrifice marking the day after Arafat. The Day of Arafat is the most important day in the Hajj ritual. This is a four day holiday. |
| 13 | Saturday | St Lucy's Day | Christian | Saint Lucy's feast day is marked by Roman Catholics and Greek Orthodox. Lucy is the patron saint of the blind. She was a virgin martyr who lived in Sicily during the third century |
| 21 | Sunday | Winter Solstice \ Yule | Pagan | Yule is the time of the winter solstice, the celebration of the winter-born king, symbolized by the rebirth of the sun child, an image of the return of all new life born through the love of the Gods. Within the Northern Tradition Yule is regarded as the New Year. |
| 22 | Monday | Hanukkah (First Day) | Jewish | Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights and marks the restoration of the temple by the Maccabees in 164 BCE. Hanukkah is celebrated at roughly the same time as Christmas, but there is no connection at all between the festivals. First candle should be lit at sunset of Sunday, December 21st. Eighth candle on Sunday, December 28th. |
| 24 | Wednesday | Christmas Eve | Christian | The day before Christmas Day |
| 25 | Thursday | Christmas Day | Christian | The day when Western Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Observed by prayers, exchanging of gifts, and family parties.? Note that the Roman Catholic and Protestant observance date varies from the Orthodox observance date. |
| 26 | Friday | Kwanzaa | Secular | An African American and Pan-African holiday celebrating family, community and culture, Kwanzaa is a secular observance with some religious participation. Seven life virtues are presented. Celebrated from December 26, 2008 through January 01, 2009. |
| 26 | Friday | Boxing Day | Secular | The day after Christmas Day. The name given to the December 26th public holiday, which was synonymous with the boxing and exchanging of gifts that would normally occur on this day by the slaves and the poor. |
| 26 | Friday | St Stephen's Day | Christian | St Stephen, the first Christian martyr, is celebrated on this day by Roman Catholics. The day is also called the Feast of Stephen |
| 29 | Monday | Al-Hijira \ Muharram | Muslim | Islamic New Year. 1430AH. Marks the migration of the Prophet Mohammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina. It will continue for 29 days until Monday, the 26th of January, 2009. |
| 31 | Wednesday | New Year's Eve | Secular | New Year's Eve is on December 31, the final day of the Gregorian year, and the day before New Year's Day. New Year's Eve is a separate observance from the observance of New Year's Day. In modern Western practice, New Year's Eve is celebrated with parties and social gatherings spanning the transition of the year at midnight. The term silvester is used in certain countries (such as Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia) for December 31st in the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve. |
Notes:
- This calendar is a North American holiday calendar using the Gregorian (Western) calendar. Dates might be different from other calendars
- Christian holidays are usually celebrated on the date
- In the Jewish and Muslim calendars a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day
- For more details you can refer to the When-Is holiday calendar, BBC online holiday calendar or Holidays on the Net
- Before using any information please consult our general disclaimer notice
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