December 16

 Holidays and Observances
(Alphabetical Order)

2024 Daily Holidays that fall on December 16, include:

• Barbie and Barney Backlash Day 
• Boston Tea Party Day 
• Day of Reconciliation (South Africa) 
• National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day 
• Stupid Toy Day 
  
• Zionism Day 

2024 Weekly Holidays that include December 16, are:

• Advent - December 1 - 24, 2024
• Christmas Bird Count Week - December 14, 2024 - January 5, 2025
  
• Cookie Exchange Week - December 16-20, 2024 (Monday-Friday week before Christmas
• Gluten-Free Baking Week - December 15-21, 2024 (Week Before Christmas)
• Human Rights Week - December 10-17
  
• Posadas - December 16-24
• Tie One On For Safety Campaign - Runs November 28, 2024 through January 1, 2025 (Thanksgiving to New Year's Day)

2024 Monthly Holidays that include December 16, are:

There are too many monthly holidays to include here, so please check out our December Holidays page to see all of the holidays that are celebrated the entire month of December.

NOTE:

• A page on each holiday will be coming soon and linked above.
• If a date is a movable holiday, that is different every year, I'll include the year as well as the date rule above. Otherwise, the holiday falls on the same date each year.

Astrological Sign

The Astrological Sign for December 16 is Sagittarius.

Birth Flower of the Month

The Birth Flower(s) for the Month for December are:

• Holly/Narcissus - Sweetness, Self-Esteem, Vanity, The Sweetness of whoever receives it

Birthstone

The Birthstone(s) for December is:

• Tanzanite
• Zircon
• Turquoise

Famous Birthdays

• 1485 - Catherine of Aragon, Spanish princess who later on becomes the Queen consort of England (d. 1536)
• 1770 - Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer and pianist (d. 1827)
• 1775 - Jan Austen, English novelist known for Sense and Sensibilities, Pride and Prejudice (d. 1817)
• 1947 - Ben Cross, English actor known for Chariots of Fire (d. 2020)

Famous Deaths

• 1980 - Colonel Sanders, American businessman who founded Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) (b 1890)
• 2007 - Dan Fogelberg, American singer, and songwriter (Longer, Leader of the Band, Run for the Roses) (b. 1951)

Famous Weddings and Divorces

• 1809 - French Military commander Napoleon Bonaparte divorces Empress Josephine de Beauharnais
• 1950 - American actress Shirley Temple marries 2nd husband U.S. Naval Officer Charles Alden Black
• 1999 - After two years of marriage, actress Linda Hamilton (Beauty & The Beast, The Terminator movies), divorces Canadian director James Cameron (The Terminator, Titanic, Avatrar)

Quote of the Day

Today, December 16th is National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day! 

See our Chocolate Holidays page!

Healthy Diet Habit Tip of the Day 
or a Recipe of the Day

Info. to Come!

This Day in History

• 1431 - Henry VI of England is crowned King of France at Notre Dame in Paris
• 1575 - Valdivia, Chili is struck with a 8.5Mw earthquake
• 1773 - During the American Revolution, members of the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and dump hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act. Their actions become known as the Boston Tea Party
• 1777 - The U.S. State of Virginia becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation
• 1850 - The ships Charlotte Jane and the Randolph bring the first of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton, New Zealand
• 1903 - The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel in Bombay opens
• 1907 - U.S. Navy Battleships (nicknamed The American Great White Fleet), begin their circumnavigation of the world
• 1920 - An estimated 200,000 people are killed in the 8.5Mw Haiyuan earthquake in the Gansu province in China
• 1920 - Finland joins the League of Nations
• 1937 - Inmates Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe are never seen again after they attempt to escape from the American federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay
• 1960 - A collision over Staten Island, New York of a United Airlines Douglas CD-8 and a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation kills all 128 people on both airplanes and six more on the ground
• 1965 - A request is made by General William Westmoreland to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara for 243,000 more men in Vietnam by the end of 1966
• 1978 - Since the Great Depression, Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first major American City to default on its financial obligations 
• 1979 - Libya and four other OPEC nations raise crude oil prices, which has a dramatic effect on the United States
• 1991 - Kazakhstan declares their independence from the Soviet Union

This Day in Music

• 1993 - Nirvana's Unplugged concert airs on MTV less that four months before Kurt Cobain's death
• 2000 - Stan by Eminem his #1 in the UK, which also features Dido's song Thank You (Video Below)
• 2003 - Shania Twains fourth album, Up! goes Diamond, making her the first woman with three Diamond albums
• 2007 - Irreplaceable by Beyonce hits #1 in the U.S.
• 2020 - Leann Rimes is unmasked as the winner of the season 4 final of The Masked Singer

This Day in Sports

• 1930 - Golfer Bobby Jones is the first to win the James E. Sullivan Award which is given out to the best U.S. amateur athlete
• 1967 - NBA Philadelphia 76ers Wilt Chamberlain scores 68 points against Chicago
• 1972 - The Miami Dolphins become the 1st undefeated NFL team (14-0-0)
• 1983 - Yogi Berra is named the New York Yankees Manager for the 2nd time
• 2019 - Drew Brees breaks Peyton Manning's NFL record (539) for career touchdown passes

Word of the Day from Wiktionary

Wishing You a Great Day Today!