Holidays Calendar for December 15, 2019
Many Western Christian churches observe Advent, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of Christmas. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. The third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday.
Court Workers' Day is celebrated in Ukraine on December 15. This professional day was established by President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma in 2000.
Power Engineer's Day is a professional day of all workers of power engineering industry in Kazakhstan. Every year this holiday falls on the third Sunday in December.
Indonesian Army Day (Hari Juang Kartika, “Kartika’s Fight Day”) is celebrated annually on December 15. It commemorates the Battle of Ambarawa during the Indonesian War of Independence, where the recently created Indonesian Army recaptured Ambarawa from the Allied troops.
An estimated 2 million people around the world speak Esperanto, the first most widely spoken constructed language. These people annually celebrate Zamenhof Day on December 15. This is a very important holiday, that draws public attention to Esperanto.
Anniversaries and Memorial Days →
Aruba,
Curaçao,
Netherlands,
Sint Maarten,
Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba
Kingdom Day in the Netherlands
Every year the Dutch celebrate Kingdom Day on December 15. This is not an official national holiday, however, the government buildings fly the flag of the Netherlands with an orange pennant.
December 15 is Bill of Rights Day in the United States. It is a national observance declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Bill of Rights ratification.
December 15 is celebrated as Homecoming Day on the island of Alderney. This is an official observance dedicated to the return of the evacuated population of Alderney after the end of the German occupation.
Greek Operation Victims Remembrance Day is observed by the Greek diaspora all over the world on December 15. It honors the memory of the Soviet Greeks who were persecuted, imprisoned, and killed during the Great Purge of 1936–1938.
2nd Amendment Day is an awareness day observed in some U.S. states to raise awareness of the right to keep and bear arms protected by the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Its date varies from state to state; for example, Oklahoma observes 2nd Amendment Day on June 28 and South Carolina on December 15.
December 15 is believed to be National Cupcake Day or National Lemon Cupcake Day – both variants can be found online. It is a perfect occasion for indulging yourself with delicious small cakes.
International Tea Day is a United Nations observance celebrated annually on May 21. It was inaugurated by the General Assembly and essentially replaced the unofficial observance of the same name, which used to be celebrated on December 15 in tea producing countries.
Festivals on December 15, 2019
- Brussels Dog Show in Brussels, Belgium
- Christmas Beer Festival in Essen (Kerstbierfestival) in Essen (Belgium), Belgium
- TSB Festival of Lights in New Plymouth, New Zealand
- Chorus Inside International in Budapest, Hungary
- AKC National Championship in Orlando, USA
- Chennai International Film Festival in Chennai, India
- GUM Christmas Fair at Red Square in Moscow, Russia
- Leuven Christmas Market in Leuven, Belgium
- Stalker International Human Rights Film Festival in Moscow, Russia
- World Amigurumi Exhibition in New York, USA
- Whirling Dervish Festival (Şeb-i Arûs) in Konya, Turkey
- Winter Wonderland at VDNG in Kyiv, Ukraine
- Jazz Bez in Lviv, Ukraine
- Havana Film Festival in Havana, Cuba
- Portland Christmas Ship Parade in Portland (OR), USA
This Day in History
- 2010 Died: Blake Edwards, American director, screenwriter and producer. His most successful films include Breakfast at Tiffany's, Days of Wine and Roses and the Pink Panther film series.
- 2010 48 of 90 asylum seekers from Iran and Iraq died after their boat crashed into rock off the coast of Christmas Island, Australia.
- 2008 Died: León Febres Cordero, Ecuadorian politician who served as President of Ecuador from August 10, 1984 to August 10, 1988.
- 2001 The Leaning Tower of Pisa was reopened after 11 years spent to fortify it without fixing its famous lean.
- 1997 Born: Maude Apatow, American actress best known for portraying Lexi Howard in the HBO drama series Euphoria. She is the daughter of Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow.
- 1982 Born: Charlie Cox, English actor. He is known for playing Tristan Thorn in Stardustand for portraying Matt Murdock/Daredevil in several projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise.
- 1981 Born: Michelle Dockery, English actress. She is best known for starring as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV television period drama series Downton Abbey, for which she was nominated for several awards.
- 1979 Born: Adam Brody, American actor. She is best known for playing the role of Seth Cohen on the Fox television series The O.C. His film credits include Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Jennifer's Body, Shazam!, and more.
- 1978 U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would recognize the People's Republic of China and sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
- 1976 Western Samoa (renamed Samoa in 1997) became a member of the United Nations. Palau would join the organization the same day in 1994.
- 1976 The oil tanker MV Argo Merchant ran aground near Nantucket, Massachusetts, causing one of the worst marine oil spills in history.
- 1973 Born: Surya Bonaly, French retired competitive figure skater. She is a three-time World silver medalist, a five-time European champion, and the only Olympic figure skater to land a backflip on one blade.
- 1973 John Paul Getty III, the grandson of American billionaire J. Paul Getty, was found alive near Naples, Italy, after being kidnapped by an Italian gang on July 10.
- 1970 Born: Michael Shanks, Canadian actor and director. He is best known for the role as Dr. Daniel Jackson in television series Stargate SG-1.
- 1970 The Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully landed on Venus. This was the first successful soft landing on another planet.
- 1966 Died: Walt Disney, American animator, entrepreneur and producer, co-founder of The Walt Disney Company. He is known for his influence and contributions to entertainment during the 20th century.
- 1958 Died: Wolfgang Pauli, Austrian-born Swiss physicist. In 1945 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of a new law of nature. His discovery involved spin theory as the basis of a theory of the structure of matter.
- 1949 Born: Don Johnson, American actor, singer, songwriter, best known for his role as James "Sonny" Crockett in the TV series Miami Vice and the leading role in the cop series Nash Bridges.
- 1939 Gone with the Wind received its premier at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
- 1928 Born: Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian artist and architect, one of the best-known Austrian artists of the end of the 20th century. One of his most recognizable masterpieces is Hundertwasser House in Vienna, Austria.
- 1923 Born: Uziel Gal, Israeli firearm designer, best known as the designer and namesake of the Uzi submachine gun.
- 1916 Born: Maurice Wilkins, English physicist and biologist. In 1962 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids.
- 1914 687 Japanese were killed in a gas explosion at Mitsubishi Hōjō coal mine.
- 1892 Born: J. Paul Getty, American industrialist, once the richest living Americans of his time according to the Fortune magazine. Getty was the founder of the Getty Oil company in 1964.
- 1890 Died: Sitting Bull, American tribal chief and Hunkpapa Lakota holy man. He led his people during years of resistance to the United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police.
- 1878 Died: Alfred Bird, English chemist and manufacturer. He is remembered for numerous inventions in the food industry, including egg-free custard and backing powder.
- 1860 Born: Niels Ryberg Finsen, Faroese-Danish physician and educator. In 1903 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his contribution to the treatment of lupus vulgaris and other diseases with concentrated light radiation.
- 1859 Born: Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof, Polish physician, inventor and writer. He is widely known as the author of Esperanto, the most successful constructed language in the world. He developed Esperanto while he was in school.
- 1852 Born: Henri Becquerel, French physicist and chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by his discovery of spontaneous radioactivity in 1903.
- 1832 Born: Gustave Eiffel, French engineer and architect. He is best known as the designer of the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris, and for his contributions to designing the Statue of Liberty in New York.
- 1792 Died: Joseph Martin Kraus, German-born Swedish composer. He is often referred to as the Swedish Mozart and his lifespan was very similar to that of Mozart.
- 1791 The Virginia General Assembly ratified the United States Bill of Rights, thus the document became law.
- 1753 Died: Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, English architect, often called the Apollo of the Arts. His most prominent works are Westminster School and Chiswick House.
- 1683 Died: Izaak Walton, English writer, best known as the author of The Compleat Angler. Walton also wrote a number of short biographies that were collected under the title of Walton's Lives.
- 1675 Died: Johannes Vermeer, Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is renowned for his masterly treatment and use of light in his work.