December 1
Minoru Yamasaki
(1912–1986) : Japanese American. Architect.
A highly successful designer of public buildings, Yamasaki is best known
for his designs for the Wayne State University campus in Detroit and the
twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.
Immigration and
Nationality Act of 1965 : United States. This
law substantially revised the system of immigration quotas that had been
in effect since 1924. The former system, which had set specific ceilings
on the number of immigrants who could enter the United States from a particular
country, was replaced by limits of 170,000 for immigrants from outside
the Western (with a maximum of 20,000 for any one country) and of 120,000
for the Western Hemisphere, with no limitations on any one country. U.S.
citizens and political refugees were exempted from the quotas. The act
greatly expanded immigration opportunities for non-Europeans.
Independence Day
: Portugal. This commemorates the restoration
of Portugal's independence in 1640 after a
60-year period of union with Spain.
Rosa Parks Day
: African American. On this day in 1955
Mrs. Rosa Parks, a Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress and member of the local
chapter of the NAACP, refused to surrender her seat to a white man, defying
the established practice of racial segregation in public transportation.
After her arrest, the Blacks of the city organized to boycott the buses,
causing the bus company's profits to drop by 65 percent. The Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. first came to national prominence as a leader of the boycott.
After a Supreme Court decision in November 1956, the boycott was ended
and integrated service began.
Youth Day : Portugal.
Public holiday.
World AIDS Day.
Also known as United Nations World AIDS Day. This
has been declared by the World Health Organization as a time to increase
education and awareness of AIDS.
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December 2
Independence Day
: Laos. Public holiday.
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December 3
Joseph Conrad (born
Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) (1857–1924) : Polish British.
Writer. After spending his youth as a merchant
seaman on French and British ships, Conrad settled in England and began
a career as a novelist and short story writer. His works, many of them
set on the high seas, are absorbing stories that raise profound questions
about the nature of fate and individual responsibility.
Giuseppe Maria
Francisco Vigo (1747–1836) : Italian. Trader
and supporter of the American Revolution. After amassing a fortune in
the fur trade in the Northwest Territory, Vigo supplied arms and supplies
to the colonial forces led by his friend George Rogers Clark. During a
brief period of captivity at the British-held fort at Vincennes, Vigo
provided Clark with information that led to Clark's capture of the fort
in 1779, a key victory in the securing of the Northwest.
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December 5
Josef Pilsudski
(1867–1935) : Polish. Political and
military leader. Born to a Polish family when the territory of historic
Poland was divided and ruled by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia,
Pilsudski devoted his energies to the cause of restoring his nation's
independence, beginning as a youthful revolutionary and evolving into
a statesman who became the chief of state when Poland was reestablished
as a nation in 1918. He served until 1922, leading Polish forces in their
successful war against Russia in 1919–1920. He seized power again
in 1926 and dominated the government until his death.
Phillis Wheatley
(1753–1784) : African American. Poet.
This is the anniversary of the death of the first distinguished African
American poet, who was brought to America as a slave at about eight years
of age. Educated in Latin and English by her master and mistress, Wheatley
became famous for her learned and elegant poetry.
Discovery Day :
Haiti. This day commemorates the discovery
by Christopher Columbus of Haiti in 1492.
National Day (King's
Birthday) : Thailand. On this holiday the
people of Thailand renew their commitment to democracy while celebrating
the birthday of the king with religious ceremonies in the temples.
Saint Nicholas
Day : Netherlands. This begins the Christmas
season in the Netherlands. On this day Saint Nicholas, "Sinterklaas,"
arrives. Cities have parades where he comes riding on a white horse or
in a barge or even on a motorcycle wearing a bishop's hat and a red cape.
That evening, adults have parties and exchange gifts, while children set
out shoes filled with carrots and hay for Saint Nicholas' horse. In the
morning, they find the shoes filled with gifts.
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December 6
Ira Gershwin (1896–1983)
: Jewish American. Lyricist and playwright.
Ira Gershwin collaborated with his brother, the composer George Gershwin,
to write many of the classics of American popular song, most of them scores
of musical comedies for the stage and movies. The Gershwins' shows include
Funny Face, Lady Be Good, and the Black "folk opera" Porgy
and Bess.
Constitution Day
: Spain. After the death of Spain's dictator,
Francisco Franco, in 1975, Spain became a democracy and on this day in
1978 a new constitution was adopted by referendum.
Farmers' Day :
Ghana. Public holiday.
Independence Day
: Finland. This day celebrates Finland's
gaining of independence from Russia in 1917.
Independence of
Quito : Ecuador. Public holiday.
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December 8
Diego Rivera (1886–1957)
: Mexican. Painter. With David Siqueiros
and José Clemente Orozco, Rivera led the mural
painting movement that flourished in newly independent Mexico. His vision
of an art created for the people found its most memorable expression in
monumental wall paintings depicting the ideals of the Mexican revolution
and his own vision of the nobility of the common people. (See entry for
November 23.)
Mother's Day :
Panama. Public holiday.
Bodhi Day (Buddha's
Enlightenment) : Buddhist. Among Mahãyãna
Buddhists, this holiday celebrates Buddha's attaining understanding of
the truth of existence, freeing himself from all human suffering, and
finding perfect happiness. The date is based on the Japanese Buddhist
calendar.
Feast of the Immaculate
Conception : Roman Catholic. This celebrates
the Roman Catholic belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was conceived
free from original sin.
Hanukkah (hah-noo-kah)
: Jewish (December 8-15). This holiday,
often misunderstood as the "Jewish Christmas" since it occurs in December,
commemorates the victory of the Jewish people, led by the Maccabee family,
over the Syrian Greeks in 165 B.C.E. This victory marked the end of a
three-year period of religious persecution, restored Jewish independence,
and ensured the survival of monotheism (belief in one God). According
to legend, when the Jews returned to cleanse their Temple, which had been
defiled by pagan worship, they discovered only enough consecrated oil
to keep the holy lamp burning for one day. However, the oil miraculously
lasted eight days, the time needed to secure a new supply. Hanukkah is
celebrated by lighting a candle on each of the eight days of celebration.
On the first night, one candle is lit in a branched candlestick called
a Menorah, and an additional candle is lit each night until the eighth
night. This ceremony has given the holiday the additional name of "Festival
of Lights." Hanukkah is joyfully celebrated. Special Hebrew hymns, including
"Rock of Ages," are sung, family members exchange gifts, and children
play with a dreidel, a four-sided top inscribed with the Hebrew letters
for "a great miracle happened there." Potato pancakes (latkes) are a traditional
food treat, with the oil used for cooking recalling the oil in the sacred
lamp. The holiday ends at sundown on December 15. (m)
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December 9
Battle of Ayucucho
: Peru. This date commemorates the fulfillment
of Peru’s quest for independence through the final defeat of Spanish forces
by Antonio José de Sucre in 1824. (See entry for July
28.)
Independence Day
: Tanzania. On this date in 1961, the East
African nation Tanganyika gained independence from Great Britain. In 1964,
Tanganyika united with several islands in the Indian Ocean, including
Zanzibar and Pemba, to form the United Republic of Tanzania.
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December 10
Ralph Bunche (1904–1971)
: African American. Diplomat, political
scientist, and United Nations official. For his work in negotiating an
agreement between Israel and Arab nations in 1949, Bunche was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize.
T[homas] H[opkins]
Gallaudet (1787–1851) : French. Educator.
An American teacher, Gallaudet established the first school for the hearing
impaired in the United States in 1817.
Constitution Day
: Thailand. Public holiday.
Human Rights Day
: United Nations. On this day in 1948,
the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, the first such statement of principle by an international
body. The document, conceived as "a common standard of achievement for
all peoples and all nations," sets forth the basic civil, economic, political,
and social rights that should be guaranteed to every person.
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December 11
Fiorello LaGuardia
(1882–1947) : Italian American. Political
leader. Energetic, colorful, and incorruptible, LaGuardia was the first
Italian American political figure of national importance. During his three
terms as mayor of New York City (1934–1945), LaGuardia instituted
political reforms and public works projects and achieved the adoption
of a new city charter.
Republic Day :
Upper Volta. On August 5, 1960, the republic
of Upper Volta, already a self-governing state within the French community,
gained complete independence.
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December 12
Frank Sinatra (1915–1998)
: Italian American. Singer, actor, entertainer.
Frank Sinatra became the first modern popular superstar with a singing
and acting career that spanned more than 50 years. Although probably best
known for his singing career, Sinatra made over 58 films and received
an Academy nomination for best actor for "The Man with the Golden Arm"
and won an Academy Award for best supporting actor for "From Here to Eternity."
He invented the solo singing style that has become the model for most
other singers since the 1940s. His single recordings and albums have become
American musical classics. Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, the
only child of Sicilian immigrant Martin Sinatra and his wife Natalie Garavante.
Composition of
"Lift Every Voice and Sing" (1900) : African American. On
this date the brothers James Weldon Johnson and James Rosamond Johnson
completed the words and music to the hymn of pride and hope that became
known as the "Negro National Anthem."
Fiesta de Guadalupe
(fe-esta-guahd-ah-loopa) : Mexico. Feast
day of the patron saint of Mexico. The shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
is Mexico's most sacred religious site. December 12 is the anniversary
of the day on which Juan Diego, an Aztec peasant, is said to have seen
a vision of the Virgin Mary, who ordered him to go and tell the Bishop
of Mexico to build a church on that spot.
Independence Day
: Kenya. Kenya, the last of Great Britain's
dependencies in East Africa, became a sovereign republic in 1963.
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December 13
Younghill Kang (1903–1972)
: Korean American. Writer. Kang came to
the United States in 1921, three years before the passage of the law that
would bar Koreans and Japanese for 28 years from settling in the United
States. He attended university classes and read widely in American literature,
beginning to write in English in 1928. He published translations of Korean
works, book reviews, a memoir, and two novels recounting the experiences
of Korean immigrants, The Grass Roof and East Goes West. Though
he achieved only modest recognition during his lifetime, he is now acknowledged
as an important figure, perhaps the first writer to express the claim
of Asian immigrants to be full participants in American society.
Constitution Day
(observed) : Russia. The new Russian Constitution
was adopted on this day in 1993 by referendum. The constitution grants
sweeping powers to the president, making him the person to name the government
while the parliament is restricted to participating in setting the national
agenda and, most importantly, passing the yearly budget.
Santa Lucia : Sweden.
This holiday, also celebrated in states such as
Minnesota where there are many Scandinavian communities, honors an Italian
martyr named Saint Lucia. Like many winter festivals, its central feature
is lights. In Sweden, a young girl wearing a white robe and a crown of
seven lighted candles serves special buns and coffee.
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December 15
Tatanka-Yatanka
(Sitting Bull) (1830s–1890) : American Indian (Sioux). Spiritual
and military leader. Sitting Bull fought and negotiated throughout his
life to maintain his people's way of life and their right to their lands
in the Black Hills. Leader of the army of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors
who annihilated General George Custer's command at Little Bighorn in 1876,
Sitting Bull continued to lead the resistance to displacement and assimilation
even after most of his followers had capitulated. He was killed on this
date while under arrest, in a confrontation between his followers and
federal police officers. (See entry for June 25.)
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December 16
Reconciliation Day
: South Africa. Public holiday.
Victory Day : Bangladesh.
This marks the day in 1971 that Bangladesh won
independence from Pakistan.
Las Posadas (los-pos
ahdâs) : Mexico. Las Posadas, celebrated
from December 16 to December 24,
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December 17
Repeal of Chinese
Exclusion Acts (1943) : United States. On
this date, as the United States fought side by side with China in World
War II, Congress repealed the laws that had excluded Chinese from immigration
to the United States since 1882. The new law also permitted Chinese immigrants
to become naturalized citizens. The yearly quota was set at only 105 immigrants,
however, and applicants for citizenship were required to document their
legal entry into the United States and pass tests in English language,
American history, and knowledge of the Constitution. (See entry for May
6.)
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December 18
Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (1971) : United States. This
act gave Inuit, Indian, and Aleut people title to 40 million acres of
U.S. federal land that native people claimed had been taken from them
by provisions in the Alaska Statehood Act. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act also provided close to $1 billion to native villages and regional
corporations.
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December 19
Carter G. Woodson
(1875–1950) : African American. Historian.
Dr. Woodson, for many years the lone voice in American Negro historiography,
organized Associated Publishers in 1921 in order to produce textbooks
and other material on African Americans. A year later, he retired from
academic life in order to devote his full time to research as director
of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and as editor
of the Journal of Negro History. It was through Dr. Woodson's efforts
that Negro History Week was established in 1926. It is now celebrated
as African American or Black History Month.
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December 20
Sacagawea (?–1812)
: American Indian (Shoshone). Guide and
explorer. This day marks the anniversary of the death of the young Shoshone
woman who joined the Lewis and Clark expedition at Fort Mandan (near present-day
Bismarck, North Dakota) and accompanied the explorers on their journey
through the newly purchased Louisiana Territory to the Pacific Coast.
Sacagawea was the expedition's chief interpreter. The journey reunited
her with her tribe, from whom she had been abducted several years earlier.
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December 21
Maria Cadilla de
Martinez (1886–1951) : Puerto Rican. Educator,
folklorist, writer, and activist. Maria Cadilla de Martinez made outstanding
contributions to every field in which she worked. As a professor at the
University of Puerto Rico, she inspired generations of students to study
and preserve their cultural heritage. Her own research into Puerto Rican
folklore and customs helped ensure the preservation of important aspects
of the island's culture. Her writings included collections of folktales,
retold in contemporary language, and volumes of her own poetry, as well
as scholarly books and articles. She was also a pioneering feminist who
worked ardently for women's causes, including the campaign for the right
to vote
Henrietta Szold
(1860–1945) : Jewish American. Activist.
Szold was the founder and first president of Hadassah, the women's Zionist
organization that had been responsible for fostering improved health care
in Palestine. She also cofounded the Jewish Publication Society of America.
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December 22
Tomás Rivera (1935–1984)
: Mexican American. Writer and educator.
The son of migrant farm workers, Rivera devoted most of his life to education,
which he saw as the key to bettering the lives of Mexican Americans. He
became a university teacher and then an administrator, holding a succession
of posts at public universities in Texas and then at the University of
California, Riverside, where he served as chancellor for the last five
years of his life. He is best known, however, for his novel . . . y
no se tragó la tierra (. . . and the Earth Did Not Part), based on
his own youthful experience. Published in 1971, it won widespread acclaim,
signaling the emergence of Latino writers as a vital force in the literature
of the United States.
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December 23
Joseph Smith (1805–1844)
: Mormon. Joseph Smith was the founder
and first president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
(the Mormon Church). In 1830 he published the Book of Mormon, considered
by members of the Church to be divine revelation.
Sarah Breedlove
Walker (1867–1919) : African American. Businesswoman
and philanthropist. Madame C. J. Walker, as she preferred to be known,
was an entrepreneurial genius whose business, the manufacture and distribution
of a line of hair products for African American women, became the largest
enterprise owned by an African American in the United States and an important
source of opportunity for African American women. Having invented the
formula in 1905, she began by selling her products door-to-door. Her company
eventually had 3,000 employees, many of them women who were licensed to
sell her products through home visits to clients. Madame Walker used her
personal wealth to support African American causes, funding scholarships
for young women and giving generously to the anti-lynching campaign of
the NAACP.
Emperor's Birthday
: Japan. This is a day of national festivities
to honor the birthday of the current emperor. The emperor gives speeches
throughout the day, and houses and buildings are decorated with the national
flag.
Victory Day : Egypt.
Public holiday.
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December 24
Scott Joplin (1868–1917)
: African American. Composer. Joplin was
the leading composer of ragtime music. He is best known for his short
"rags," but he also composed a ragtime symphony, Treemonisha, and
was working on a ragtime opera at the time of his death.
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December 25
Wendell Chino (1923–1998)
: American Indian (Mescalero Apache). Indian
spokesman and activist. Chino, who was president of his tribe for 34 years,
was a key figure in the movement to demand that the federal government
honor its treaties with Indian nations regarding the use of land and other
natural resources. He was hailed by Roy Bernal, chairman of the All Indian
Pueblo Council, as "the Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X of Indian
Country." When the Bureau of Indian Affairs' contracts for such activities
as mining, lumber production, and water use began to expire in the 1960s,
Chino refused to renew the contracts. Instead he formed companies to manage
these resources that would be controlled by the Mescalero Apaches living
in southern New Mexico. They built the Inn of the Mountain Gods, Casino
Apache, a timber mill, Indian schools, a hospital, and a health center.
Promoting "red capitalism," or Indian control of Indian land, Chino traveled
widely as a spokesman for Indian issues and served as president of the
National Congress of American Indians.
Philip Vera Cruz
(1904–1994) : Filipino American. Labor
leader and activist. Born in Illocus Sur in the Philippines and immigrating
to the United States to work in the agricultural fields of California,
Cruz served as vice president of the United Farm Workers union, working
with its president, Cesar Chavez, to gain recognition
of the union as the representative of the grape workers in California.
With Chavez, he helped initiate the Delano Grape Strike that led to the
formation of the union. In 1965, he joined the Agricultural Workers Organizing
Committee of the AFL-CIO and led the successful Filipino farm workers'
strikes in Coachella and Delano. Later that year, he allied his movement
with that of Chavez to form the United Farm Workers Union.
Filippo Mazzei
(1730–1810) : Italian. Adventurer
and writer. An importer of Italian products, Mazzei came to America from
London in 1773 at the invitation of Thomas Jefferson to set up an experimental
farm where he planned to raise olives, grapes, and citrus fruit. He became
a supporter of the cause of American independence and in 1779 was sent
to Europe to borrow money for the revolutionary armies. He remained in
Europe until the end of the Revolution, working in support of the American
cause.
Qaid-I-Azam's Birthday:
Pakistan. Political leader. Qaid-I-Azam
Muhammed Ali Jinnah was a leader of the movement for India's independence
from Great Britain and founded the independent state of Pakistan. His
birthday is celebrated as a national holiday on
July 27.
Christmas : Christian.
Followers of all Christian faiths observe Christmas
on this day to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Christmas has been celebrated
on this day since the Roman Catholic Church established it in the fourth
century as the official day for celebration. Eastern Orthodox Christians,
however, continue to follow an earlier practice of using the Julian Calendar
and celebrate Christmas on January 7. Christmas
is a family-oriented holiday with special foods, colorful decorations,
and exchanging of gifts. Families often have their own traditions, especially
concerning when gifts are exchanged and what foods are served.
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December 26
Kwanzaa (quanza)
(rhymes with wanza) : African American. Celebrated
from December 26 to January 1, Kwanzaa began in the United States in 1966
and is patterned after an East African harvest festival. Symbols of Kwanzaa
are set upon a low table laden with tropical fruits and vegetables. Kwanzaa
decorations traditionally use a color scheme of red, black, and green:
black to represent the faces of Black people and their collective beauty,
red to represent the struggle and the blood of ancestors, and green to
signify youth and renewed life. The Kwanzaa observance includes storytelling
about the seven principles of Kwanzaa: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination),
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics),
Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith).
St. Stephen's Day
: Roman Catholic. Public holiday.
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December 27
Boxing Day : Britain
(Observed in Bahamas, Canada, England, Ireland, N. Australia, Scotland).
Britain and many British Commonwealth countries
including Canada and Australia observe the second day of Christmas as
Boxing Day. When it falls on the weekend, the following Monday is a public
holiday. The name comes from the old tradition, no longer observed, of
keeping Christmas Day as a religious day, and giving Christmas boxes -
presents - on the following day.
Day of Goodwill
: South Africa. Public holiday.
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December 28
Holy Innocents'
Day : Mexico, Morocco. In an attempt to
find the infant Jesus and kill him, King Herod ordered the killing of
children in Bethlehem. Current research indicates that between 6 and 20
children were killed.
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December 29
Wounded Knee Massacre
(1890). This date is the anniversary of
the massacre of some 150 Sioux men, women, and children by soldiers of
the United States Seventh Cavalry at Wounded Knee, where the Indians had
made camp after surrendering. The event marked the end of the Indian Wars
on the Great Plains.
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December 30
Rizal (reezahl-day)
Day : Philippines. This public holiday
celebrated on the anniversary of his birth honors José Rizal, the son
of a wealthy Chinese-Filipino sugar planter, who studied medicine and
liberal arts at the University of Madrid, becoming a leader of a small
group of Filipino students studying in Spain. While in Spain, he wrote
novels promoting social and religious reform in the Philippines and protesting
the strong influence of the Franciscan, Augustinian, and Dominican Catholic
orders over the Filipino people, as well as that of the Spanish government
and Spanish culture. Returning to the Philippines in 1892, he founded
the nonviolent reform society La Liga Filipina, but was deported to an
island south of the Philippines. He was arrested in 1896 by the military
on the charge of leading a revolt against Spain, tried for sedition, and
publicly executed by a firing squad. On the eve of his execution, he wrote
Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last Farewell), a masterpiece of 19th-century
Spanish verse. He is considered by many as the first Asian nationalist.
This is the day of his death.
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December 31
Bank Holiday : Argentina,
Japan. Public holiday. *
Revolution Day
: Ghana. Public holiday.
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