In December, most people make it a point to enjoy some of the coolest December global holidays and party with friends.
Here’s a list of 12 December global holidays happening in the month. Write down the dates so you can party with people from around the world!
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Christmas Day
The Christmas season is a pretty fun time of year. People from all walks of life come together and enjoy being with the people they love.
Christmas is observed globally, with many countries and regions around the world celebrating on December 25th each year. In the Western world, there are public holidays in many countries on Christmas day, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
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Hanukkah
Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that’s celebrated each year. Early celebrations took place in the Maccabean era when the Temple was rededicated in Jerusalem.
Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah or Festival of Lights, is a Jewish holiday that lasts 8 days and happens during November or December. Hanukkah always happens around December 25th. It is one of the two major Jewish holidays that take place outside of Israel, the other being Passover. Unlike Hanukkah, Passover can happen on any day.
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Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is a holiday that is celebrated in December. It’s the time of year with the most December global holidays. The Kwanzaa festival celebrates both African culture and family values. It involves traditions like gift-giving, storytelling, and candles to symbolize unity. Kwanzaa is a celebration of human achievement and group kinship. This festival embodies the seven principles of unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purposeful living, creativity, and faith.
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St. Nicholas Day
December is here and it’s time to celebrate St. Nick! He’s a popular figure in many countries worldwide with multiple names: Nicklaus, Nikolas, or Saint Nicholas.
Most countries celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 6th, but in a few different places, it might be celebrated on December 10th or 12th.
Who needs Santa when you’ve got St. Nick? Nick was born in modern-day Turkey and died at Myra, in present-day Greece. Upon his death, he became Bishop of Myra and is today regarded as a saint. His relics were moved to Bari (Italy) one thousand years ago and are still on display there.
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New Year’s Day
New Year’s Day is the holiday to mark the end of winter and the start of a new year. Traditionally, some people celebrate with parties and other festivities on December 31st (New Year’s Eve), which is said to be halfway through the year. During festivals, everyone usually visits their friends, and they usually give them some interesting presents or even make food or give them some money.
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East of St Stephen (Greek Orthodox)
On December 1 (sometimes on November 28), Orthodox Christians celebrate St. Stephen’s saint day.
Dec. 25th is widely celebrated throughout Christianity as Jesus Christ’s birthday and the day he performed his first miracle. The next day, Dec. 26th would have been the day a person became a saint by worshipping him. The feast day of St. Stephen was established in 336 A.D.
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The Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Catholic)
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception happens on December 8th and is a Catholic holiday celebrating the idea that Mary, the mother of Jesus, had no sins before she was born. The Catholic Church believes that when Mary visited the Temple, she spoke to an angel. She was told to name her son “Emmanuel”. This means, “God with us.”
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Las Posadas
December is such a big month for December global holidays. This is another great festival called Las Posadas that’s celebrated in different regions, including Mexico and Central America. The celebration lasts for about 11 days and starts on the 15th of December. Joseph, Gaspar, and Balthazar arrive on the fifteenth of December.
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Festivus
Another December global holidays is Festivus, which is usually observed on December 23rd. It’s a secular holiday that was originally created by writer Daniel O’Keefe in his 1966 book, “The Feats of Strength.” These December global holidays were created to satirize the commercialization of Christmas and other aspects of modern life.
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New Year’s Eve
A lot of countries have a New Year’s Eve so people have a chance to share in both traditions. They can also celebrate the old year’s last day, then flip the new page to January 1st and start fresh.
New Year’s Eve always falls on December 31st and will continue to do so for at least 2,610 more years.We hope to see you at the event this New Year’s Eve!
