Holidays Calendar for December 3, 2026
On December 3, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of Saint Francis Xavier, a well-known Catholic missionary and one of the founders of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order). It is an official holiday in the Spanish autonomous community of Navarre, where Francis Xavier was born, and in the Indian state of Goa, where he led a mission.
3December is an annual event celebrating 3D computer graphics. It was launched by Alias System Corporation. Currently, the event is coordinated by Autodesk, as Autodesk acquired Alias in December 2006.
Global No Pesticides Use Day is observed on December 3. It was launched by Pesticide Action Network (PAN) International in 1998 to commemorate the Bhopal disaster of 1984, which is considered the world's worst industrial disaster.
Lawyer's Day is an official professional holiday in Russia celebrated on December 3. It was established in February 2008 by President Vladimir Putin and has been observed every year ever since.
On December 3 every year, the lawyer community of India celebrates Advocate's Day. The holiday marks the birth anniversary of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India who also was a very eminent lawyer.
On December 3 every year, Cuban doctors celebrate their professional holiday. National Doctor’s Day in Cuba was established to commemorate the birthday of Carlos Juan Finlay, a Cuban physician and epidemiologist who was the first to discover the transmission vector of yellow fever.
Teachers' Day has been celebrated in many countries around the world for a long time, while in Israel it's a new holiday. It was established at the national level only in 2013 and it's annually celebrated on Kislev 23.
International Basque Language Day, also known as International Day of the Basque Language, is celebrated on December 3. It was established in 1948 and became official in 1995.
Day of the Unknown Soldier is an official memorial day in Russia dedicated to the memory of all Russian and Soviet soldiers who died in the line of duty in Russia or abroad and whose names are unknown. It is observed annually on December 3.
December 3 is a holiday for all the coffeeholics out there because the National Peppermint Latte Day is observed on this date. Celebrate this food-related holiday by treating yourself to a cup of peppermint-flavored caffellatte.
National Green Bean Casserole Day is celebrated annually on December 3. It is a great occasion to perfect your green bean casserole recipe between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Peppermint Bark Cheesecake Day is one of many cheesecake days created by Patti Jewel. It is celebrated on December 3 in honor of a delicious dessert that combines the sweetness of chocolate and the freshness of peppermint.
International Day of Persons with Disabilities is an annual United Nations observance held on December 3. It was established by the General Assembly in 1992 as International Day of Disabled Persons and has been celebrated every year ever since.
This Day in History
- 2014 The Japanese space agency JAXA launched the space explorer Hayabusa 2 on a six-year round trip mission to an asteroid to collect rock samples.
- 2012 Typhoon Bopha made landfall in the Philippines, killing at least 475 people.
- 2011 Died: Dev Anand, Indian actor, writer and director, a well-known person in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential persons in the history of Indian cinema.
- 2000 Died: Gwendolyn Brooks, American poet and teacher. She became the first African-American (she preferred the term "Black") person to win a Pulitzer prize.
- 1999 Died: John Paul Larkin, better known by his stage name Scatman John, American musician, the creator of fusion of scat signing and dance music. His best known hits are "Scatman" and "Scatman's World".
- 1997 Representatives from 121 countries signed the Ottawa Treaty, prohibiting manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel landmines. China, Russia and the USA didn't sign the treaty.
- 1994 The PlayStation, developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment, was released in Japan for the first time.
- 1992 The world's first text message was sent from a personal computer via the Vodafone network to a phone.
- 1985 Born: Amanda Seyfried, American actress known for her roles in the films Mean Girls, Mamma Mia! and its sequel, Jennifer's Body, Les Misérables, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Mank, and more.
- 1984 More than 3,800 people were killed and 150,000-160,000 others injured due to a methyl isocyanate leak from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. It was one of the worlds worst industrial disasters in history.
- 1981 Died: Walter Knott, American farmer, founder of the Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in California. His park is the 13th most visited theme park in North America.
- 1980 Born: Jenna Dewan, American actress and dancer known for her role as Nora Clark in the film Step Up. Her television credits include Supergirl, Superman & Lois, The Resident, The Rookie, and more.
- 1976 An assassination attempt was made on Bob Marley. He was shot twice, two days later he played a concert.
- 1973 Born: Holly Marie Combs, American actress and producer, best known for her roles as Kimberly Brock in Picket Fences, Piper Halliwell in Charmed, and Ella Montgomery in Pretty Little Liars.
- 1968 Born: Brendan Fraser, Canadian-American actor. He emerged as a star playing Rick O'Connell in The Mummy trilogy and won an Academy Award for his lead role in the 2022 film The Whale.
- 1967 A transplant team headed by Christian Barnard carried out the first heart transplant on a human at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.
- 1965 Born: Katarina Witt, German former figure skater. A two-time Olympic champion, Witt is regarded as one of the greatest ladies' singles figure skaters of all time.
- 1960 Born: Julianne Moore, American actress and author. Her most acclaimed films include The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Hannibal, Nine Months, Carrie.
- 1948 Born: Ozzy Osbourne, English vocalist, songwriter and TV personality. He rose to prominence as the lead vocalist of the rock band Black Sabbath, later he started to pursue a successful solo career.
- 1935 Died: Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom, a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth child and second daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
- 1933 Born: Paul J. Crutzen, Dutch chemist. He is known for his work on the hole in the ozone layer, winning him the Nobel Prize in 1995.
- 1925 Born: Kim Dae-jung, South Korean lieutenant and politician, the 8th President of South Korea from February 25 1998 to February 25, 2003. In 2000 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his policy of engagement with North Korea.
- 1919 The Quebec Bridge opened to traffic after nearly 20 years of planning and construction, including two collapses and death of 89 builders.
- 1911 Born: Nino Rota, Italian composer, pianist and conductor, best known for his film scores. His most notable works are the first two Godfather films by Francis Ford Coppola and two of Franco Zeffirelli's Shakespeare films.
- 1910 George Claude demonstrated the modern neon lighting for the first time at the Paris Motor Show.
- 1902 Died: Prudente de Morais, Brazilian politician, the 3rd President of Brazil, serving in office from November 15, 1894 to November 15, 1898.
- 1900 Born: Richard Kuhn, German chemist, the 1938 Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate. He was awarded the Prize for his work on carotenoids and vitamins.
- 1894 Died: Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish author and poet, most famous for his works Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
- 1892 Died: Afanasy Fet, Russian poet regarded as one of the finest lyricists in Russian literature.
- 1888 Died: Carl Zeiss, German physicist and maker of optical instruments for the company he founded, Carl Zeiss AG. He maid great contributions to lens manufacturing, that had aided the modern production of lenses.
- 1886 Born: Manne Siegbahn, Swedish physicist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1924 for his discoveries and research in the field of X-ray spectroscopy.
- 1884 Born: Rajendra Prasad, Indian politician, the 1st President of India.
- 1789 Died: Claude Joseph Vernet, French painter, renowned for his seascapes. His most famous paintings include The Expulsion of the Jesuits, A Calm at a Mediterranean Port, Shipwreck, Mediterranean Night.
- 1596 Born: Nicola Amati, Italian luthier. He was one of the prominent members of the Amati family of violin maker. Antonio Stradivari, Andrea Guarneri, Matthias Klotz, Jacob Railich and Giovanni Battista Rogeri were his pupils.