December Diversity Holidays

DECEMBER 1

•    World AIDS Day commemorates those who have died of AIDS and acknowledges the need for continued commitment to all those affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. 

DECEMBER 3

•  International Day of Persons with Disabilities, designed to raise awareness in regard to persons with disabilities in order to improve their lives and provide them with equal opportunity  

DECEMBER 3 - 24

• Advent, a Christian season of celebration leading up to the birth of Christ 

DECEMBER 7 - 16

• Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday that is celebrated for eight days and nights. Hanukkah celebrates the victory of the Maccabees, or Israelites, over the Greek-Syrian ruler, Antiochus, approximately 2,200 years ago.  

DECEMBER 8

• Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates the solemn celebration by various Christian denominations of belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  
• Bodhi Day, a Buddhist holiday that commemorates the day the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (Shakyamuni), experienced enlightenment; also known as Bodhi in Sanskrit and Pali   
•  Latina Equal Pay Day. The aim is to raise awareness about the wider-than-average pay gap between Latinas and White men. Latinas are paid 54 cents for every dollar paid to White men. 

DECEMBER 10

• International Human Rights Day, established by the United Nations in 1948 to commemorate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights  

DECEMBER 12

• Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a religious holiday in Mexico commemorating the appearance of the Virgin Mary near Mexico City in 1531  

DECEMBER 13

• St. Lucia’s Day, a religious festival of light in Scandinavia and Italy commemorating the martyrdom of St. Lucia, a young Christian girl who was killed for her faith in 304 CE. She secretly took food to persecuted Christians in Rome while wearing a wreath of candles on her head so both her hands would be free.   

DECEMBER 16 - 24

• Las Posadas, a nine-day celebration in Mexico commemorating the trials Mary and Joseph endured during their journey to Bethlehem  

DECEMBER 21

• Yule Winter Solstice, celebrated by Pagans and Wiccans. The shortest day of the year represents a celebration focusing on rebirth, renewal, and new beginnings as the sun makes its way back to the Earth. A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the sun reaches its highest position in the sky.  

DECEMBER 25

• Christmas Day, the day that many Christians associate with Jesus’ birth  

DECEMBER 26

• Boxing Day, a secular holiday celebrated in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and South Africa  
• Zartosht No-Diso (Death of Prophet Zarathushtra), a day of remembrance in the Zoroastrian religion. It commemorates the anniversary of the death of the prophet Zoroaster, or Zarathushtra.  
• St. Stephen’s Day, a day to commemorate St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, or protomartyr  

DECEMBER 26 - JANUARY 1

• Kwanzaa, an African-American holiday started by Maulana Karenga in 1966 to celebrate universal African-American heritage  

DECEMBER 27

•  St. John’s Apostle and Evangelist Day, feast day for St. John, celebrated by Christian denominations 

DECEMBER 28

• Feast of the Holy Innocents, a Christian feast in remembrance of the massacre of young children in Bethlehem by King Herod the Great in his attempt to kill the infant Jesus 

DECEMBER 30

• Feast of the Holy Family, a liturgical celebration in the Catholic Church in honor of Jesus, his mother, and his foster father, St. Joseph, as a family. The primary purpose of this feast is to present the Holy Family as a model for Christian families.   

DECEMBER 31

•  Watch Night, a day for Christians to review the year that has passed, make confessions, and then prepare for the year ahead by praying and resolving.