Use this calendar to learn more about diversity and culture in the month of December!

 

Although December has not been designated a special heritage month, it does contain celebratory days that are recognized internationally. On December 10 in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document set forth the basic civil standard of economic, political, and social rights that should be guaranteed to every person. Each December, the commitment to this universal document of rights is renewed and celebrated. In addition, the United Nations has established December 3 as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This international observance was established to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights, and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also aims to foster awareness of the importance of integrating persons with disabilities into every aspect of life.

 

December 2, 2012, Sunday

Advent begins: Christian.

Advent marks the beginning of the Western Christian ecclesiastical year. It begins on the Sunday nearest to the Feast of St. Andrew on November 30, and continues through Christmas Eve, and the next four Sundays. Originally observed with fasting and penitence as a period during which converts to Christianity prepare baptism. Advent is observed as a time to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ.

 

 

December 3, 2012, Monday

Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) (1857-1924): Polish British.

Conrad was a writer, known for his novel “Heart of Darkness” and many other titles. He spent his youth as a merchant seaman on French and British ships, and then settled in England where he began his career as a short story writer. Many of his works were set on the high seas. His absorbing stories raise profound questions about the nature of fate and individual responsibility.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities: United Nations. 

This international observance was established to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights, and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also aims to foster awareness of the importance of integrating persons with disabilities into every aspect of life.

 

December 7, 2012, Friday

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day: United States. 

On December 7, 1941, the United States endured a surprise attack by the Japanese naval and air forces at the U.S. Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. The early morning attack left 2,403 Americans dead, and 1,178 wounded. The next day President Franklin D. Roosevelt made his memorable address to a joint session of Congress where he called December 7, 1941 “a date which will live in infamy.” His address prompted the U.S. Congress to declare war on Japan, which drew the United States into World War II on the Allied side. Pearl Harbor remained the worst terrorist attack in the U.S. history until the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Farmers’ Day: Ghana.

Farmers’ Day is celebrated to honor hardworking farmers whose work is essential to the survival of the nation. In 1988, the first Friday of every December was recognized by the government as Farmers’ Day.

 

December 8, 2012, Saturday

Diego Rivera (1886-1957): Mexican. 

Diego Rivera led the mural painting movement that flourished in newly independent Mexico. His murals are best known for its depiction of the ideals of the Mexican revolution and his own vision of the nobility of the common people.

Bodhi Day (Buddha’s Enlightenment): Buddhist.  Amongst the Mahayana Buddhists, this day celebrates one of Buddha’s major accomplishments — the understanding of the truth of existence. Buddha freed himself from all human suffering, which led to him finding perfect happiness.

 

December 9, 2012, Sunday

Hanukkah (12/9-12/16): Jewish.

Hanukkah commemorates the victory of the Jewish people, led by the Maccabee family, over the Syrian Greeks in 165 B.C.E. This victory marked the end of a three-year period of religious persecution, restored Jewish independence, and warranted the survival of monotheism. According to historical accounts, the Jewish people discovered that their temple had only enough consecrated oil to keep the holy lamp burning for one day. However, the oil miraculously lasted eight days. Hanukkah is celebrated by lighting a candle on each of the eight days of a branched candlestick called a menorah, until all eight candles are lit. Potato pancakes, or latkes, are a traditional food, cooked with oil representing the oil in the sacred lamp. The holiday ends at sundown on December 16.

 

December 10, 2012, Monday

Human Rights Day: United Nations.  On this day in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document set forth the basic civil standard of economic, political, and social rights that should be guaranteed to every person. The theme for 2012 celebration is inclusion and the right of people to participate publicly in their communities.

 

December 11, 2012, Tuesday

Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006): Egyptian.  Mahfouz was a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He is acknowledged as the Arab world’s foremost novelist and the only Arab writer to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature (1988). Throughout his career, he chronicled the development of modern Egypt in 33 novels, 13 short-story anthologies, dozens of screenplays, and plays. The Cairo Trilogy (Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street), published in the 1950s, portrays three generations of an Egyptian family in Cairo, whose daily lives reflect the clash between tradition and modernity as Egypt was gaining independence from British rule.

 

December 12, 2012, Wednesday

Fiesta de Guadalupe (fee-esta-guahd-ah-loohpa): Mexico. 

The Fiesta de Guadalupe is the feast day of the patron Saint of Mexico. This day is the anniversary of the day on which Juan Diego, an Aztec peasant, is believed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary. In his vision the Virgin Mary ordered him to go and tell the Bishop of Mexico to build a church on the most sacred religious site, the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

 

December 15, 2012, Saturday

Tatanka-Yatanka (Sitting Bull) (1830s-1890): American Indian (Sioux). 

As a spiritual and military leader, Sitting Bull fought and negotiated to maintain the Sioux people’s way of life and their right to their lands in the Black Hills. He led the battle against General George Custer’s command at Little Bighorn in 1876. He continued to lead the resistance to displacement and assimilation even after many of his followers had been killed. He was killed on this date while under arrest, in a confrontation between his followers and federal police officers.

 

December 17, 2012, Monday

Reconciliation Day: South Africa

Traditionally celebrated as the Day of the Vow, commemorating the day that a group of Voortrekkers defeated a Zulu army at the Battle of Blood River. Also, the African National Congress activists commemorate today, being the day in 1961 when the ANC started to arm its soldiers to overthrow the apartheid. With the advent of democracy in South Africa, the president set aside this day to focus on overcoming the conflicts of the past and building a new nation. “We, the people of South Africa, have made a decisive and irreversible break with the past…” President Nelson Mandela, December 16, 1995.

 

December 20, 2012, Thursday

Sacagawea (?-1812): American Indian (Shoshone).  Once a guide and explorer, December 20th marks the anniversary of the death of the young Shoshone woman. She joined the Lewis and Clark expedition at Fort Mandan, or presently Bismarck, North Dakota. Sacagawea accompanied Lewis and Clark on their journey through the Louisiana Territory to the Pacific Coast. She was the expedition’s chief interpreter, and was later reunited with her tribe from which she was previously abducted.

 

December 25, 2012, Tuesday

Christmas: Christian

Christmas has been celebrated since the Roman Catholic Church was established in the fourth century, making the 25th the official day of celebration of Christmas. But most Christians observe Christmas as the celebration of the birth of Jesus. This is a family-oriented holiday with traditions of special foods, colorful decorations, and the exchanging of gifts. But within each family lies their own traditions for celebrating Christmas.

Kwanzaa (qwanza): African American

Created by scholar and cultural activist Dr. Maulana Karenga in the United States, it was first celebrated in 1966. Modeled after harvest festivals in Africa, Kwanzaa derives its name from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, “first fruits.” A seven-branched candelabrum called a kinara is used, which reflects upon the seven principles of Kwanzaa. The kinara is used for lighting one candle for each day of the holiday. Traditional decorations of Kwanzaa use the color scheme of red, black, and green: black is the representation of the faces of Black people and their unified beauty, red is to represent the struggle and the blood of ancestors, and green to signify youth and renewed life. The observance includes the story-telling of the seven principles of Kwanzaa: Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith.

Boxing Day: United Kingdom

Recognized in the United Kingdom and many other countries of the Commonwealth Nations as the day when people give gifts or money to those who provide service. Gifts are given in appreciation of what service workers have done over the past year.
Reference: Electronic Diversity Resource Calendar, Diversity Resources, Inc.