December 21th is...

Don't Be A Scrooge Day
- Ebenezer Scrooge was an unhappy, negative and cynical businessman preoccupied with his greedy pursuit of money, who did not want to be bothered with, did not want to participate in, and could not get into the "spirit" of Christmas. Don't be a Scrooge! Forget the Bah-Humbugs! Make the most of the cultural traditions of the holiday. Enjoy the Christmas season!

National Hamburger Day
- The hamburger is about as American as the Hotdog and apple pie. Rather than dragging out the grill, especially if you are located where the weather is biting at your toes, get online, and celebrate National Hamburger Day with restaurant food delivery!

Yalda
- the Persian Winter Solstice Celebration which has been popular since ancient times. Yalda is celebrated on the Northern Hemisphere's longest night of the year, that is, on the eve of the Winter Solstice.

Winter Solstice
- No one's really sure how long ago humans recognized the winter solstice and began heralding it as a turning point -- the day that marks the return of the sun. One delightful little book written in 1948, 4,000 Years of Christmas, puts its theory right up in the title. The Mesopotamians were first, it claims, with a 12-day festival of renewal, designed to help the god Marduk tame the monsters of chaos for one more year.

Forefathers' Day
- commemorates the pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620. They left for the New World, to escape religious persecution. After a late fall start, the Mayflower set sail from England and landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts just before Christmas. This holiday is celebrated largely in New England.

Ann & Samantha Day
- Celebrated worldwide, this twice-yearly holiday is meant for reflection on Anne Frank’s and Samantha Smith’s contributions to our world and to promote them as subjects worthy to be honored on official American postage stamps, as well as the stamps of all nations.

Phileas Fogg Win A Wager Day
- Phileas Fogg is the main fictional character in the 1873 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days. Accompanied by his manservant, Passepartout, Fogg attempts to circumnavigate the late Victorian world in 80 days, or less, on a wager of £20,000 set by the Reform Club. He takes the wager and on that day leaves with Passepartout, vowing to return by 8.45 pm on Saturday 21 December 1872.

National Haiku Poetry Day
- A haiku is a form of Japanese poetry that is a non-rhymed verse genre that consist of 3 lines. The first and last lines of a Haiku have 5 syllables and the middle line has 7 syllables. Many schools and libraries will be celebrating this form of poetry today, this is a great opportunity to learn more about this unique form of poetry.

Look at the Bright Side Day
- a day to be optimistic. The term itself is an optimistic one. It calls upon us to look for something positive, out of an otherwise bad or sad situation. Often, a bad experience has positive lessons to be learned. If you have a bad day yesterday, look on the bright side.... today is another day, and an optimistic one at that!

Crossword Puzzle's Birthday
- if there was ever an activity invented for long nights, it's the crossword puzzle. The first one appeared on Dec. 21, 1913, as a Christmas present to readers of the "Fun" page of the New York World's Sunday magazine. It was the brainchild of Arthur Wynne, the editor of the section, who dubbed it the "Word-Cross."

National Flashlight Day
- The basic requirement for this day, is a flashlight and good batteries. Flick the switch, and you can put anything into your spotlight. You never know when you will need a flashlight. This is a good day to make sure you and your family know where the flashlights are. Test each flashlight, to be sure the batteries are good. When in doubt, replace the batteries with new ones. It is also a good idea to put a flashlight in your car.

Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock
- Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620. It is an important symbol in American history.

World Peace Day
- If we start teaching our children by example, instead of just saying things and not following through ourselves, maybe, just maybe, they will understand the importance of their actions and deeds. It is a simple way to teach our children that we do stand for living in a peaceful world.

Yule
- Modern Yule traditions include decorating a fir or spruce tree, burning a Yule log, hanging mistletoe and holly branches, giving gifts, and general celebration and merriment.


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- This was updated by Catherine on December 21, 2011 -

Category: CDN, December, US, worldwide