December 24
Holidays and Observances

 Holidays and Observances
(Alphabetical Order)

2026 Daily Holidays that fall on December 24, include:

• Christmas Eve 

• Last Minute Shopper's Day

• National Eggnog Day 

• National Re-gifting Day - December 24, 2025 (Thursday before Christmas)

2026 Weekly Holidays that include December 24, are:

• Advent - November 29, 2026 - December 24, 2026

• Christmas Bird Count Week - December 14, 2026 - January 5, 2027

• Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over (Winter Enforcement) - December 16, 2026 - January 1, 2027

• Posadas - December 16-24

• Tie One on For Safety Campaign - Runs November 26, 2026, through January 1, 2027 (Thanksgiving to New Years Day)

2026 Monthly Holidays that include December 24, 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: If a date is a moveable 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.

Looking for more than a list?
Click here to read our detailed guide: Explore the December Monthly Holidays & Awareness Causes Guide

Christmas Eve

Astrological Sign

The Astrological Sign for December 24 is Capricorn.

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

• 1809 - Kit Carson, American frontiersman and General (d. 1868)
• 1905 - Howard Hughes, American businessman, engineer, and pilot (d. 1976)
• 1922 - Ava Gardner, American actress (On The Beach) (d. 1990)
• 1923 - George Patton IV, American General (d. 2004)
• 1926 - Mary Higgins Clark, American author who wrote mystery suspense novels (d. 2020)
• 1961 - Ricky Martin, Puerto Rican-American singer, songwriter, and actor (Livin' la Vida Loca)
• 1974 - Ryan Seacrest, American radio host and T.V. personality and producer (Live with Kelly & Ryan, American Idol)

Famous Deaths

• 1914 - John Muir, Scottish-American geologist, botanist, author who founded the Sierra Club, known as the father of the National Parks (b. 1838)
• 1967 - Burt Baskin, American businessman who co-founded Baskin-Robbins (b. 1913)
• 1992 - Peyo, Belgian cartoonist who created The Smurfs (b. 1928)
• 1993 - Norman Vincent Peale, American minister and author (The Power of Positive Thinking) (b. 1898)
• 2017 - Heather Menzies, Canadian-American model and actress who played Louisa von Trap in The Sound of Music (b. 1949)

Famous Weddings and Divorces

• 1914 - Agatha Miller, future best-selling detective author, marries aviator Archibald Christie
• 1971 - Profession boxer George Foreman marries Adriene Calhoun
• 1990 - Actor Tom Cruise (Top Gun) marries actress Nicole Kidman (Days of Thunder, Moulin Rouge, Far and Away)

Quote of the Day

Believe in the Magic of Christmas!

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

Info. to Come!

Season

December 24th falls within the Winter Season in the Northern Hemisphere. 

Winter is one of the four seasons. It follows the Fall Season, and is before the Spring Season. It is the coldest and darkest season in the Northern Hemisphere. It also starts in one year, and ends in the next, so it straddles two different years. 

Check out our Winter Season page for information about Winter, Winter Dates, Major Winter Holidays and Observances, Major Winter Festivals, Fun Facts About Winter, Winter Food Tips, Winter Gardening, Winter Preparation, Winter Quotes, and Winter Weather Information.

Kerry has put together some great information and tips on winter foods: 

• Winter Foods
• Winter Weight Gain
• Winter Weight Loss Tips

If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, this day falls in the Summer Season. 

• Summer
• Summer Cooking 
• Summer Weight Loss Tips 

This Day in History

• 1777 - Kiritimati, or Christmas Island is discovered by Captain James Cook
• 1800 - The Assassination Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise fails to kill Napoleon Bonaparte
• 1814 - The Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812 is signed by the United Kingdom and the United States
• 1865 - The Ku Klux Klan is formed by Jonathan Shank and Barry Ownby
• 1868 - The Greek Presidential Guard is established as the royal escort by King George I
• 1906 - The first radio broadcast is transmitted by Reginald Fessenden who does a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech
• 1913 - In Calumet, Michigan, 73 Christmas party attendees are killed when someone falsely yells fire
• 1914 - During World War I, the Christ truce begins
• 1924 - Albania becomes a republic
• 1929 - A four alarm fire breaks out in the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C.
• 1939 - During World War II, Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve plea for peace
• 1943 - During World War II, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower is named the Supreme Allied Commander for the Operation Overlord
• 1944 - During World War II, the Belgian Troopship Leopoldville sinks after being torpedoed with a loss of 763 soldiers and 56 crew
• 1951 - Libya becomes independent, and Idris I is proclaimed King of Libya
• 1953 - In Tangiwai on New Zealand's North Island a railway bridge is damaged by a mudslide and collapses beneath a passenger train which kills 151 people
• 1964 - During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong bomb the Brinks Hotel in Saigon, South Vietnam
• 1966 - A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the U.S. military crashes into a village in South Vietnam, killing 111
• 1968 - The crew of Apollo 8 become the first humans to enter into orbit around the moon. They perform ten lunar orbits and broadcast live TV picture
• 1971 - Lighting stikes LANSA Flight 508 causing it to crash in the Puerto Inca District in the Department of Huanuco in Peru resulting in 91 deaths
• 1974 - Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia and kills 71 people, destroying more than 70% of buildings and 80% of residential homes
• 2008 - A Ugandan rebel group called the Lord's Resistance Army attacks civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo killing over 400 people

This Day in Music

• 1818 - Still Nacht or Silent Night is played for the first time by a church choir in Austria for their Midnight Mass
• 1966 - I Think We're Alone Now by Tommy James & the Shondells is recorded
• 1977 - How Deep is Your Love by the Bee Gees hits #1 on the Hot 100
• 1988 - Every Rose has its Thorn by Poison, hits #1 in the U.S.

Video Above: Silent Night by Hillsong Worship

This Day in Sports

• 1889 - Daniel Stove and William Hance patent the bicycle with back pedal brake
• 1974 - MLB Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals is named Sportsman of the Year

Word of the Day from Wiktionary

Wishing You a Great Day Today!