Holidays Calendar for December 17, 2026
The National Day of Bhutan is celebrated on December 17. It commemorates the coronation of the first Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) of modern Bhutan. Bhutan's most significant national holiday is widely celebrated throughout the country.
December 17 Anniversary is a Tunisian public holiday established in 2019. It commemorates the beginning of the Tunisian Revolution, also known as the Jasmine Revolution, that led to the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
On December 17, Western Churches celebrate the feast day of Saint Lazarus of Bethany. In Cuba, Saint Lazarus Day (San Lázaro) is a major festival that combines the elements of Roman Catholicism and Santería, a syncretic polytheistic religion that developed in Cuba during the colonial period.
International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers is a global observance held on December 17. It originated in the United States in 2004 and has been observed annually ever since.
State Executive Service Day in Ukraine is celebrated on December 17. It was established in 2009. It is the professional holiday of all the employees of the State Executive Service of Ukraine.
Day of Belarusian Cinema is celebrated annually on December 17. It commemorates the foundation of Belarusian film industry in 1924.
Wright Brothers Day is a United States national observance that was established in 1959 by President Dwight D. Esienhower. It is observed on December 17.
Pan American Aviation Day is an annual national observance in the United States. It is observed on December 17 and falls on the same day as Brothers Wright Day, which is not surprising as both observances commemorate the same event.
Kurdish Flag Day is officially celebrated in Iraqi Kurdistan (an autonomous region of Iraq populated by Kurds) on December 17 each year. It was established by the parliament of Iraqi Kurdistan in 1999.
Maple syrup is a distinctly North American product therefore it surely deserves its own national day. National Maple Syrup Day is celebrated on December 17.
In the modern world, a lot of people find it hard to imagine their lives without various devices that make everything (well, almost everything) so much easier. National Device Appreciation Day, celebrated annually on December 17, was created to recognize the importance of devices in our lives and encourage people to insure them.
Have you ever received a gift you didn’t really want? We bet you have; useless generic gifts are the bane of corporate holiday parties. In fact, they are so common that they have inspired a holiday named National Re-gifting Day. It is celebrated every year on the Thursday before Christmas.
Bullying is such a huge problem around the globe that there are multiple campaigns to stop it and help children who are being bullied. For example, the Canadian province of New Brunswick officially observes Anti-Bullying Day on December 17.
This Day in History
- 2014 Cuba and the United States re-established diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961. The historic warming of Cuba-U.S. relations is referred to as the Cuban Thaw.
- 2011 Died: Cesária Évora, renowned Cape Verdian singer known as the Barefoot Diva and the Queen of Morna. In 2003, her album Voz d'Amor received a Grammy Award.
- 2011 Died: Kim Jong-il, the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) from 1994 until his death. He was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-un.
- 2010 Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid. This act of self-immolation sparked the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring.
- 2003 Flight 11P of SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded manned flight to reach supersonic speeds. The spaceplane was piloted by William Brian Binnie.
- 1997 Born: Shoma Uno, Japanese figure skater. As of 2023, he was a three-time Olympic medalist (2018 silver, 2022 bronze, 2022 team bronze), a two-time World champion, and a two-time World silver medalist.
- 1996 The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) published the first CSS specification, CSS level 1. The CSS 1 Recommendation is no longer maintained by W3C.
- 1993 Born: Kiersey Clemons, American actress whose film credits include Dope, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Flatliners, Hearts Beat Loud, Zack Snyder's Justice League, and The Flash.
- 1989 The first episode of The Simpsons, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", aired on the Fox network. Since its debut, the animated series has broadcast over 750 episodes.
- 1983 A car bomb was detonated by members of the Provisional IRA outside Harrods department store in central London, killing 6 people and causing much damage.
- 1977 Born: Katheryn Winnick, Canadian actress of Ukrainian descent. She is known for her starring roles in the television series Vikings, Wu Assassins, and Big Sky.
- 1975 Born: Milla Jovovich, American actress, model, musician, and fashion designer. Her breakthrough role was Leeloo in Luc Besson's science fiction action film The Fifth Element.
- 1974 Born: Sarah Paulson, American actress who gained fame for her collaborations with filmmaker Ryan Murphy in several television series, primarily American Horror Story.
- 1969 The United States Air Force officially closed Project Blue Book, a series of systematic studies of UFOs. All activity under its auspices ceased in January 1970.
- 1968 Born: Paul Tracy, Canadian former professional racing driver who competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series. He is nicknamed PT.
- 1967 Born: Gigi D'Agostino (stage name of Luigino Celestino Di Agostino), Italian DJ and record producer. One of his best known singles is "The Riddle" released in 1999.
- 1964 Died: Victor Francis (Franz) Hess, Austrian-American physicist who was awarded the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of cosmic radiation.
- 1962 Died: Thomas Mitchell, American actor of stage and screen. Mitchell was the first person to win an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award.
- 1958 Born: Mike Mills, American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer best known as one of the founding members of the alternative rock band R.E.M.
- 1947 Born: Eugene Levy, Canadian actor and comedian. He is known for writing and acting in the Canadian television sketch series SCTV, appearing in the American Pie film series, and co-creating and co-starring in the sitcom Schitt's Creek.
- 1936 Born: Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio), pope of the Catholic Church. He was elected in 2013 in a papal conclave following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.
- 1933 Died: Thubten Gyatso, the 13th Dalai Lama of Tibet. He he was recognized as the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in 1878 and assumed political power in 1895.
- 1930 Born: Bob Guccione, American publisher best known as the founder and publisher of the men's magazine Penthouse, which he founded in 1965 in the UK.
- 1928 Died: Frank Rinehart, American photographer primarily remembered for his photography capturing Native American scenes and personalities, especially portraits.
- 1914 Born: Fernando Alonso, Cuban ballet dancer. In 1948, Alonso co-founded the Cuban National Ballet together with his wife Alicia and his brother Fernando.
- 1907 Died: William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, British mathematical physicist and engineer. He is probably best known for formulating the first and second laws of thermodynamics.
- 1887 Born: Josef Lada, Czech painter and author. He is primarily remembered as the original illustrator of the satirical novel The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek.
- 1862 Major-General Ulysses S. Grant issued General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from his military district, comprising areas of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
- 1857 Died: Francis Beaufort, Irish hydrographer and officer in Royal Navy. He is primarily remembered as the creator of the Beaufort scale, which is a measure of wind speed.
- 1833 Died: Kaspar Hauser, German feral child who claimed to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell. His claims and mysterious death sparked much debate.
- 1830 Died: Simón Bolívar, Venezuelan military and political leader, 1st President of Venezuela. He played an instrumental role in the establishment of sovereignty of several South American states.
- 1830 Born: Jules de Goncourt, French writer who published books together with his elder brother Edmond. The Goncourt brothers were inseparable in both literary work and life.
- 1790 The Aztec calendar stone, also known as Stone of the Five Eras or Sun Stone, was rediscovered at El Zócalo, Mexico City during repairs on the Mexico City Cathedral.
- 1600 Henry IV of France married Marie de' Medici. It was his second marriage; he had annulled his marriage to Margaret of France because the couple had no children.