Bureaucrats, Check users, Interface administrators, Administrators (Semantic MediaWiki), Administrators, vuser
9,362
edits
Changes
Copied from Wikipedia GFDL, Revised 19:41, 6 January 2007 by .anacondabot
'''December'''
'''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 [[day]]s.
[[December_20|December 20]]
December begins (astrologically) with the [[sun]] in the sign of [[Sagittarius (astrology)|Sagittarius]] and ends in the sign of [[Capricorn (astrology)|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 (constellation)|Sagittarius]].
In Latin, ''decem'' means "[[10 (number)|ten]]". December was also the tenth month in the [[Roman calendar]] until a monthless winter period was divided between [[January]] and [[February]].
== Monthlong observances ==
*[[World AIDS Month]]
*[[Human rights|Human Rights]] Month
==Events in December==
* [[Hanukkah]]
* [[World AIDS Day]] ([[December 1]])
* [[Sinterklaas]] in [[The Netherlands]] ([[December 5]])
* [[Naksi]] in [[Kazakhstan]] ([[December 5]])
* [[Independence Day of Finland|Independence Day]] in [[Finland]] ([[December 6]])
* [[Pearl Harbor Day]] in the [[United States]] ([[December 7]])
* Día de la Madre en Panamá, Mother's day in Panama. ([[December 8]])
* [[Human Rights Day]] ([[December 10]])
* Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe, or Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in Mexico ([[December 12]])
* [[Saint Lucy]] ([[December 13]])
* [[Zamenhof Day]] ([[December 15]])
* 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 [[December 22]] (in UTC).
* In the pagan wheel of the year the summer solstice is the time of [[Litha]] and the winter [[solstice]] is that of [[Yule]].
* Fictional holiday, [[Festivus]] ([[December 23]])
* [[Christmas Eve]] ([[December 24]])
* [[Christmas]] ([[December 25]])
* [[Boxing Day]] ([[December 26]])
* [[Kwanzaa]] ([[December 26]] to [[January 1]])
* [[Philippines]] - [[José Rizal|Rizal Day]] ([[December 30]])
* [[New Year's Eve]] ([[December 31]])
==Trivia==
*December always begins with the same day of the week as [[September]].
*December's [[flower]] is the [[narcissus (flower)|narcissus]] or [[holly]].
*December's [[birthstones]] are [[turquoise]], [[lapis lazuli]], [[zircon]], [[topaz]] (blue), or [[tanzanite]].
*December in the [[Northern Hemisphere]] is the seasonal equivalent to [[June]] in the [[Southern Hemisphere]] and vice versa.
==Other names==
*In [[Albanian language|Albanian]], December is called ''Dhjetor''
*In [[Finnish language|Finnish]], December is called ''joulukuu'', meaning "month of Christmas", since about the 18th century. Earlier it was called ''talvikuu'', meaning "month of winter".
*In [[Georgian language|Georgian]], December is called ''დეკემბერი''.
*In [[Irish language|Irish]], December is called ''Mí na Nollaig'', meaning "month of Christmas".
*In [[Japanese calendar|the old Japanese calendar]], the month is called ''Shiwasu'' meaning "priests run"; it is named so because priests are busy making end of the year prayers and blessings.
*In [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]], December is known as ''ngeyomNga'', meaning "month of the mimosa thorn tree".