Holidays Calendar for December 7, 2012

On December 8, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The eve of the Immaculate Conception is a public holiday in some countries, namely Guatemala and Colombia. In both countries, the celebration has some specific traditions.

Memorial Day in East Timor is observed on December 7. It is a public holiday dedicated to the victims of the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. The occupation began in December 1975 and lasted for more than two decades. It was notorious for executions, massacres, torture, and deliberate starvation.

Saba is one of the islands incorporated in the Netherlands after dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. Here people annually celebrate Saba Day on the first Friday in December and this holiday is also known as Flag Day.

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National Farmers' Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ghana celebrated on the first Friday in December. It was instituted by the government in 1985 in response to a severe drought that had imposed serious burden on the country's farmers. The holiday honors Ghana's farmers and fishers and their contribution to the nation's socioeconomic development.

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Gospel Day is a public holiday in the Republic of the Marshall Islands celebrated on the first Friday in December. It commemorates the first missionaries who brought Christianity to the isolated archipelago.

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World Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome Awareness Day, also known as World TTTS Awareness Day and World TTTS Day, is observed annually on December 7. It was created to raise awareness of a complication that occurs in 5–15% of identical twin pregnancies.

Day of Local Self-Government in Ukraine is celebrated on December 7. It is the official professional holiday of all employees of Ukraine's local self-government bodies. The holiday was officially established by President Leonid Kuchma in 2000.

December 7 is Armed Forces Flag Day in India. It is the commemoration of Indian soldiers, airmen and sailors that has been observed since 1949. Flag Day originated as a charity initiative.

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.

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Finance Employees Day, also known as Financial Experts Day, is one of the official professional holidays in the Republic of Tajikistan. It was established by the Law on Holidays adopted in 1995. The holiday is situated annually on December 7.

Bartender Appreciation Day is an informal professional holiday, which is celebrated mainly in the United States. Created by Sailor Jerry Rum in 2011, it is celebrated on the first Friday of December to honor bartenders for the great service they provide.

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Faux Fur Friday, occasionally referred to as National Faux Fur Friday, is observed annually on the first Friday of December. This observance was launched to raise awareness of the many benefits of faux fur compared to animal fur.

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The Stage Hermitage Museum, which is one of the world’s largest art museums and one of the most famous museums in Russia, celebrates its foundation anniversary on December 7. On Hermitage Day, the museum offers free admission to permanent exhibitions and a special program of events.

Ukrainian Headscarf Day, sometimes referred to as World Ukrainian Headscarf Day, is observed in Ukraine and by the Ukrainian diaspora on December 7. It celebrates an integral element of the Ukrainian folk costume.

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is an annual national observance in the United States. It is observed on December 7 to honor the victims of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

December 7 is Spitak Earthquake Remembrance Day in Armenia. On this day, Armenian citizens commemorate the victims of the 1988 Armenian earthquake. The remembrance day is marked with wreath-laying ceremonies and special church services.

The National Cotton Candy Day is celebrated on December 7. Cotton candy, also known as candy floss or fairy floss, is a confection that is almost 100 percent sugar.

Some people put up and decorate their Christmas trees right after Thanksgiving, while others prefer to wait a little longer before kicking off the Christmas season. If you belong to the latter category, you can put up your Christmas tree on National Christmas Tree Day, celebrated on the first Saturday of December in Canada and on December 8 in the United States.

National Slime Day is a fun holiday observed annually on December 7. It was created to celebrate an amazing toy that has been around since the 1970s and is widely regarded as a cultural phenomenon.

Little Candles Day (Día de las velitas) is a popular traditional holiday in Colombia, celebrated throughout the country. It is observed on December 7, on the eve of the Immaculate Conception. The Day of the Little Candles unofficially kicks off the holiday season in Colombia.

International Civil Aviation Day is celebrated on December 7. It was instituted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 1994. Two years later, the UN General Assembly recognized it as an official United Nations observance.

On December 7, Iranian students celebrate Student Day in commemoration of the student protest that occurred on December 7, 1953. The holiday was instituted after the Islamic Revolution of 1979.


This Day in History

  • 2007 A crane barge broke free from a tug and collided with a very large crude oil carrier Hebei Spirit, beginning the worst oil spill in the history of South Korea.
  • 2004 Died: Jay Van Andel, American businessman, best known as one of the co-founders of Amway Corporation.
  • 2003 The Conservative Party of Canada was officially registered, following the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
  • 1998 Died: Martin Rodbell, American biologist, best remembered for his discovery of G-proteins. This discovery won him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1994.
  • 1995 A little more than six years after the launch the Galileo spacecraft arrived at Jupiter. Galileo became the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter and measure its atmosphere.
  • 1994 Born: Yuzuru Hanyu, Japanese figure skater and ice show producer. He is a two-time Olympic champion, a two-time world champion, and one of the most decorated male single skaters of all time.
  • 1993 Died: Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Ivoirian politician who served as the 1st President of Ivory Coast from November 3, 1960 to his death.
  • 1993 Died: Wolfgang Paul, German physicist. He was one of the developers of the non-magnetic quadrupole mass filter that laid the foundation for what we now know as an ion trap. This work brought him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1989.
  • 1989 Born: Nicholas Hoult, English actor known for his roles in the films About a Boy, X-Men: First Class, Warm Bodies, Tolkien, Renfield, and more, as well as in the TV series Skins and The Great.
  • 1988 More than 25,000 people were killed when an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale hit the city of Spitak, Armenia. Over 30,000 were injured and 500,000 left homeless.
  • 1987 Born: Aaron Carter, American singer. He was the younger brother of Nick Carter, American musician, member of the pop group Backstreet Boys. Aaron came to fame in the late 1990s, establishing himself as a star among pre-teen and teenage audience.
  • 1980 Died: Darby Crash, American vocalist and songwriter. Crash co-founded the punk rock band Germs that after his death of an intentional drug overdose attained legendary status among fans and musicians alike.
  • 1979 Born: Sara Bareilles, American singer, songwriter, pianist, and actress. Her accolades include two Grammy Awards, as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony Awards.
  • 1979 Born: Jennifer Carpenter, American actress. Her best known role is Debra Morgan on the Showtime drama series Dexter. Her other notable roles include Emily Rose in The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
  • 1977 Born: Dominic Howard, English musician, known as the drummer and co-producer for the alternative rock band Muse.
  • 1975 Died: Thornton Wilder, American author. He is best known for the novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, which brought him three Pulitzer Prizes.
  • 1974 Born: Nicole Appleton, Canadian singer, songwriter and actress, best known as a member of the All Saints girl group.
  • 1972 The last Apollo mission, Apollo 17, was launched. The crew took photograph known as The Blue Marble as they left the Earth.
  • 1965 Born: Jeffrey Wright, American actor known for his role as Belize in the Broadway production of Angels in America, for which he won a Tony Award, and its HBO miniseries adaptation.
  • 1949 Born: Tom Waits, American singer, songwriter, composer and actor. He's known for his distinctive voice and trademark growl, and became a famous musical persona.
  • 1947 Died: Nicholas Murray Butler, American philosopher, diplomat and educator. In 1931 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for promotion of the Briand-Kellog pact and for his work as the leader of the American peace movement.
  • 1946 119 people were killed, when the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia caught fire. This is the deadliest hotel fire in the history of the USA.
  • 1941 The Imperial Japanese Navy carried out a surprise attack on the US Pacific Fleet and its defending Army and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
  • 1930 W1XAV television station broadcast video from the CBS radio orchestra program, The Fox Trappers. The broadcast included the first television commercial in the USA, an advertisement for I.J. Fox Furriers, who sponsored the radio show.
  • 1917 Died: Ludwig Minkus, Austrian composer and violinist. He was noted for the music he composed while serving as the official Composer of Ballet Music to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theaters in Russia.
  • 1906 Died: Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist and educator. He was one of the co-founders of the League of Peace and Freedom and served as director of the organization till his death. His activism brought him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1902.
  • 1873 Born: Willa Cather, American author. She achieved recognition for her novels of frontier life on the Great Plains - O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Ántonia. In 1923 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the novel One of Ours.
  • 1863 Born: Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer, most remembered for his operas. His best known masterpieces are the operas Cavalleria rusticana, L'amico Fritz and Iris.
  • 1793 Died: Joseph Bara, French drummer boy, the hero of the French Revolution. He was too young to join the army, however, he became a drummer boy. He was killed at the age of 13, and his death was later used for the patriotic propaganda.
  • 1732 The Royal Opera House opened at Covent Garden, London, England.
  • 1703 The greatest windstorm ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain made landfall. Wind gusted up to 120 mph, at least 9,000 people died.
  • 1598 Born: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Italian artist and architect. He was the leading sculptor of his age and he's credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture.
  • 1302 Born: Azzone Visconti, Italian ruler, lord of Milan from 1329 till his death. It's believed that Visconti founded the state of Milan that later became a duchy.
  • 903 Born: Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Persian astronomer and author, famous for his Book of Fixed Stars published in 964. His book became the basis for the further work of astronomers.