Holidays Calendar for December 20, 2025
Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day is celebrated every year on December 20. This holiday was established to mark the universality of transition of Macau from the colony of Portugal to a special administrative division of the People's Republic of China.
Abolition Day is a public holiday in Réunion, the overseas department of France. This holiday celebrates abolition of slavery on December 20, 1848.
The people of Panama commemorate the events of December 20, 1989, when the United States conducted Operation Just Cause and invaded Panama. The anniversary of this day is known in Panama as National Mourning Day.
Hanukkah, also transliterated as Chanukah, is a Jewish eight-day festival of lights that starts on the 25th day of the month of Kislev. It commemorates the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the Maccabean Revolt, following Judah Maccabee’s victory over the Seleucids.
International Wrinkled Shirt Day (Día Internacional de la Camisa Arrugada) is celebrated annually on December 20. The holiday’s name might seem silly, but it actually has a serious goal to help people around the world become more environmentally conscious.
Security Service Workers' Day is observed in the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Armenia and the Kyrgyz Republic on December 20. This professional day was “inherited” by these countries from the Soviet Union, where the same holiday was observed on December 20.
State Courier Service Day is an official professional holiday in Kazakhstan, which was established in November 2018. It is celebrated on December 20 to commemorate the foundation anniversary of the State Courier Service of Kazakhstan.
Students were one of the driving forces of the Myanmar independence movement and observation of Bo Aung Kyaw Day is connected with the events, when then-Burma was controlled by Britain. Today this is one of the official memorial days in Myanmar.
National Wreaths Across America Day is observed on every second or third Saturday of December by wreath-laying ceremonies held at Arlington National Cemetery and other cemeteries across the country. It was created to remember fallen United States veterans and honor those who currently serve their country in the armed forces.
Sacagawea Day is observed annually on December 20. It commemorates the death anniversary of a Native American woman who is best known for traveling as a guide with the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
National Sangria Day is celebrated on December 20. The choice of the date is somewhat ironic since sangria is a fruity wine punch usually drank as a refreshing beverage in summer.
Even though it is hard to imagine the holiday season without Christmas carols, people rarely go caroling door to door these days. If you would like to revive this amazing tradition, you can sing carols for your family, friends, or neighbors on December 20 because it is Go Caroling Day.
National Cortado Day is celebrated annually on December 20. It was created to recognize and promote a coffee beverage that originated in Spain.
Mudd Day is observed annually on December 20. It commemorates the birthday of a man whose reputation was forever tarnished due to his acquaintance with John Wilkes Booth, President Abraham Lincoln’s assassin.
Cathode-Ray Tube Day is an informal holiday celebrated annually on December 20 to recognize an invention that made it possible to produce electronic television sets and computer displays. Although CRTs have been superseded by other technologies, it is hard to deny their importance and contribution to progress.
The UN General Assembly proclaimed International Human Solidarity Day in 2005 and designated December 20 to be the date of this observance. This international observances was established to remind people about the important role that solidarity plays in realization of all international agreements and programs.
Festivals for December 20, 2025
- Comic Fiesta in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Mooloolaba Yacht Club’s Christmas Boat Parade in Mooloolaba, Australia
- Night of the Proms in Cologne, Germany
- London International Horse Show in London, United Kingdom
- Carthage Film Festival in Tunis, Tunisia
- Leuven Christmas Market in Leuven, Belgium
- Portland Christmas Ship Parade in Portland (OR), USA
- Prague Christmas Market in Prague, Czech Republic
- Maastricht Christmas Market in Maastricht, Netherlands
- Merano Christmas Market in Merano, Italy
- Liège Christmas Market in Liège, Belgium
- Helsinki Christmas Market in Helsinki, Finland
- Bolzano Christmas Market in Bolzano, Italy
- Nuremberg Christmas Market in Nuremberg, Germany
- Brussels Christmas Market in Brussels, Belgium
This Day in History
- 2019 The United States Space Force was established, becoming the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces since the establishment of the United States Air Force in 1947.
- 2009 Died: Brittany Murphy, American actress and singer, known for her proficiencies in both comedy and drama. She died at the age of 32 under disputed circumstances.
- 2007 Elizabeth II became the oldest monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 month and 29 days.
- 2007 Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch and Cândido Portinari's O Lavrador de Café were stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art in Brazil. The paintings were found on January 8, 2008.
- 2004 Thieves stole £26.5 million worth of currency from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This was one of the largest bank robberies in British history.
- 2001 Died: Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegalese politician and poet. He served as President of Senegal for 20 years from 1960 to 1980.
- 1999 Died: Riccardo Freda, Italian film director, best known for his horror and thriller movies. His greatest horror films were The Horrible Dr. Hichcock and The Ghost.
- 1998 Died: Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, English physiologist and biophysicist who shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Andrew Huxley and John Eccles.
- 1996 Died: Carl Sagan, American astronomer and author, known for his contributions to the discovery of the high surface temperatures of Venus and the research of extraterrestrial life.
- 1996 NeXT merged with Apple Computer, which started the path to Mac OS X.
- 1987 An estimated 4,000 people were killed (only 1,749 officially) when the passenger ferry Doña Paz sank after colliding with the oil tanker Vector in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines. The accident became the worst peacetime sea disaster in history.
- 1984 A freight train carrying over 1 million liters of gasoline derailed near the town of Todmordern, England, causing the largest underground fire in history.
- 1983 Born: Taylor Jenkins Reid, American author best known for her novels The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones & the Six, One True Loves, Malibu Rising, and Carrie Soto Is Back.
- 1983 Born: Jonah Hill, American actor and filmmaker, a two-time Academy Award nominee. He is best known for his performances in the films Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street.
- 1982 Died: Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-born American classical pianist, one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. Many regard him as the greatest Chopin interpreter of his time.
- 1970 Born: Nicole de Boer, Canadian actress. She is best known for starring in the cult film Cube as Joan Leaven and playing Ezri Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
- 1968 Died: John Steinbeck, American author, widely known for his comic novels Cannery Row, Tortilla Flat and Pulitzer Prize-winning The Grapes of Wrath. He was awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature.
- 1961 Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-I) in Arco, Idaho became the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity was used to power 4 light bulbs.
- 1960 Born: Kim Ki-duk, South Korean film director and screenwriter, noted for his idiosyncratic art-house cinematic works. He is widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary Asian film directors.
- 1955 Cardiff was proclaimed the capital city of Wales.
- 1948 Born: Alan Parsons, English sound engineer, songwriter and musician. He was involved with the production of several significant albums, including The Beatles' Let It Be and Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.
- 1946 Born: Uri Geller, Israeli-English magician and self-proclaimed psychic. He is well-known for his television performances of spoon bending and other illusions.
- 1946 Born: Dick Wolf, American film and television producer. He specializes in crime dramas such as Miami Vice and the Law & Order franchise.
- 1945 Born: George Peter John Criscuola, better known as Peter Criss, American musician and actor, co-founder and original drummer of hard rock band Kiss.
- 1937 Died: Erich Ludendorff, German general and politician. He took part in the unsuccessful coup of Wolfgang Kapp in 1920 and the Beer Hall Putsch of Adolf Hitler in 1923, but afterwards he became disappointed in Nazis.
- 1929 Died: Émile Loubet, French politician who served as the 8th President of France. His presidency lasted from February 18, 1899 to February 18, 1906.
- 1927 Born: Kim Young-sam, South Korean politician. He served as the 7th President of South Korea from February 25, 1993 to February 25, 1998.
- 1917 Died: Eric Campbell, British actor who was a key member of Charlie Chaplin's film ensemble. He played an intimidating bully and appeared in 11 of Chaplin's films before dying in a car crash at the age of 38.
- 1905 Born: Bill O'Reilly, Australian cricketer, one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. After retirement from playing he became a well-known cricket writer and broadcaster.
- 1901 Born: Robert J. Van de Graaff, American physicist, known for designing and constructing high voltage generators.
- 1890 Born: Jaroslav Heyrovský, Czech chemist and inventor, best known for the invention of the polarographic method and as the father of the electroanalytical method. He was awarded the 1959 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- 1860 South Carolina made an attempt to secede from the United States, becoming the first state to do so.
- 1841 Born: Ferdinand Buisson, French academic and politician. In 1927, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1192 Richard I of England was captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after signing a treaty with Saladin ending the Third Crusade.