Holidays Calendar for January 6, 2024
Christmas and Epiphany (Theophany) are among the most important feast days in Christianity. Most denominations celebrate the two feasts separately. However, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Nativity of Jesus Christ on the same day as Epiphany.
January 6 is Armed Forces Day (Army Day) in Iraq. This holiday is observed annually since 1921 after the activation of the Iraq Army and today it is a national holiday and a day off.
For many Christians, the celebration of Christmas begins on Christmas Eve observed on December 24. However, most Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches still use the old Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, so their Christmas Eve falls on January 6 in the Gregorian calendar.
Epiphany in Western Christianity
Epiphany, also known as Theophany, Little Christmas, or Three King’s Day, is one of the most important Christian feasts. It celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ. The feast is observed on January 6 in most Western Christian denominations.
World Day for War Orphans is observed annually on January 6. It was created to raise awareness of the fact that millions of children have been orphaned due to war, highlight their plight, and mobilize international efforts to support these children.
On January 6 every year, Jamaican Maroons hold a large festival to celebrate their culture. The celebration takes place in the historical Maroon village of Accompong and includes singing, dancing, drum-playing, and traditional foods.
Pathet Lao Day in Laos falls on January 6. This day Laotians celebrate the anniversary of victory of the Pathet Lao over Lao Royal government.
January 6 is National Shortbread Day in the USA. This is a good reason to treat yourself to some delicious shortbread or even try baking it.
Can you imagine your life without technology? Neither can we! Technological advancements have made our world what it is today, and they surely deserve to be celebrated. National Technology Day, observed annually on January 6, was created to highlight the role of technology in the modern world and celebrate the people behind it.
National Bean Day, also known as Dry Bean Day, is observed annually on January 6. It celebrates all the different kinds of beans that are a staple food in many cultures because of their high protein content.
As much as we wish the holiday season could last forever, at some point we have to return to our everyday lives. However, there is one thing you need to do before that: take down your Christmas tree. January 6 is a great day to say goodbye to Christmas decorations because it is National Take Down the Christmas Tree Day.
Festivals on January 6, 2024
- Kastoria Ragoutsaria Carnival in Kastoria, Greece
- Carnival in French Guiana in Cayenne, French Guiana
- St. Louis Mardi Gras in St. Louis, USA
- New Orleans Mardi Gras in New Orleans, USA
- Gualeguaychú Carnival in Gualeguaychú, Argentina
- Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival in Hwacheon, South Korea
- Carnival in Guadeloupe in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe
- Aruban Carnival in Oranjestad, Aruba
- Dolomiti Balloonfestival in Toblach, Italy
- Sydney Festival in Sydney, Australia
- Japan Meeting of Furries in Toyohashi, Japan
- Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in Harbin, China
- Blacks and Whites’ Carnival in Pasto, Colombia
- Crucian Christmas Carnival in Christiansted, American Virgin Islands
- Carnival of Putignano in Putignano, Italy
This Day in History
- 2022 Died: Peter Bogdanovich, American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. His accolades included a BAFTA Award and Grammy Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
- 2021 The United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. was attacked by a mob of supporters of then-U.S. president Donald Trump, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
- 2019 Muhammad V of Kelantan abdicated from the federal throne of Malaysia, becoming the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong (supreme ruler) of Malaysia to do so.
- 2004 Died: Charles Dumas, American high jumper. He was the 1956 Olympic champion and the very first person to clear 7 ft.
- 2000 Died: Don Martin, American cartoonist. His best known work was published in Mad from 1956 to 1988.
- 2000 An accident caused by a train collision in Graniteville, South California, resulted in the release of about 60 tons of chlorine gas.
- 2000 The last Pyrenean ibex Celia (Iberian wild goat) was found dead after a tree had landed on her, making the species extinct.
- 1994 Died: Virginia Clinton Kelley, the mother of Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States.
- 1984 Born: Kate McKinnon, American actress, comedian, impressionist, and writer. She is known as a former cast member of SNL, as well as for her roles in Ghostbusters, Barbie, and other films.
- 1982 Born: Eddie Redmayne, English actor. He has received various accolades, including (as of 2024) an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Olivier Awards.
- 1974 Because of the 1973 oil crisis daylight saving time began almost four months earlier in the U.S.
- 1969 Born: Norman Reedus, American actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his portrayal of Daryl Dixon in the hit AMC horror drama series The Walking Dead.
- 1955 Born: Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor. He is best known for his roles as Mr. Bean and Edmund Blackadder in British sitcoms.
- 1954 Born: Anthony Minghella, British film director, playwright and screenwriter. He directed Truly, Madly, Deeply, The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Cold Mountain.
- 1949 Died: Victor Fleming, American director, producer, and cinematographer. He is known for his films Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.
- 1946 Born: Syd Barrett, English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is known as a founding member of Pink Floyd.
- 1944 Born: Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Swiss immunologist and Nobel Prize laureate. He was awarded for the discovery of how the immune system recognizes virus-infected cells.
- 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms speech in the State of the Union address. According to the speech, people in every country ought to enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
- 1938 Born: Adriano Celentano, Italian singer, songwriter, actor, director. He is recognized as the best-selling male Italian singer.
- 1931 Died: Rodolphe Kreutzer, French violinist, composer, and conductor. He composed 40 French operas, including La mort d'Abel, which is his most famous work.
- 1930 The first diesel-engined automobile trip was completed. It started in Indianapolis and finished in New York.
- 1929 Mother Theresa arrived in Calcutta, India, to begin her work among the poorest and sick people.
- 1925 Born: John DeLorean, American engineer and businessman. He is famous as the founder of the DeLorean Motor Company.
- 1919 Died: Theodore Roosevelt, American politician, author, naturalist, historian, soldier, and explorer. He served as the 26th President of the United States.
- 1918 Died: Georg Cantor, German mathematician. He is known as the inventor of set theory that became a fundamental theory in mathematics.
- 1912 Alfred Wegener, a German geophysicist, presented his theory of continental drift.
- 1907 Born: David Fleay, Australian ornithologist and zoologist. He was the pioneer in the breeding of endangered species and the very first person who bred platypus in captivity.
- 1907 Maria Montessori, a well-known Italian physician and educator, opened her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome.
- 1884 Died: Gregor Johann Mendel, Austrian geneticist. He gained posthumous fame as the founder of modern genetics.
- 1868 Born: Vittorio Monti, Italian violinist, composer, and conductor. His most famous work Csárdás, is a rhapsodical concert piece based on a Hungarian folk dance.
- 1852 Died: Louis Braille, French educator. He is famous for his invention of a system (known simply as braille) that enabled the blind or visually impaired to write and to read.
- 1839 The most damaging storm in 300 years swept across Ireland. It resulted in the damage and destruction of more than 20% houses in Dublin.
- 1838 Alfred Vail demonstrated a new telegraph system using dots and dashes. This system was a forerunner of Morse code.
- 1822 Born: Heinrich Schliemann, German archeologist. He excavated Hisarlik (the presumed site of Troy), Mycenae and Tiryns. Thanks to Schliemann's work the idea that Homer's Iliad reflected actual historic events was lent weight.
- 1745 Born: Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, French inventor. He co-invented the hot air balloon with his brother Joseph-Michel Montgolfier.
- 1536 Died: Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter. He worked for years with Raphael, Bramante and Sangallo. Peruzzi is known for his architectural masterpiece, the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne in Rome.
- 1412 Born: Joan of Arc, French saint honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War.