Each month our library displays a list of “national” events which occur during the month. This list includes monthly recognitions, weekly celebrations, wacky and crazy daily celebrations, as well as the birthdays of famous people and authors/illustrators. For our display, I also include the birthdays of our students and faculty.
Feel free to adapt the list below to meet your needs. If you want to look at other lists, I have used Holiday Insights and National Day Calendar as well as calendars I receive from publishers.
It is always fun to plan special events around some of the crazy/wacky days. I’d love to hear how you celebrate some of these days. Like this post and comment below.
Here is my list for December 2018
Monthly and Weekly:
Write a Friend Month
National Pear Month
National Drunk & Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month
Root Vegetables and Exotic Fruits Month
Safe Toys and Gifts Month
National Cookie Cutter Week (First Week)
National Hand Washing Awareness Week (First Full Week)
Computer Science Education Week (week of Dec. 3)
Christmas Bird Count Week: December 14-January 5
Gluten-free Baking Week: Week of December 17
Las Posadas: December 16-24
December Daily Holidays and Events:
1 National Pie Day
1 Rosa Parks Day
1 Jan Brett (author) birthday
2 Advent begins
2 Channukah begins
2 National Mutt Day
2 Special Education Day
2 David Macaulay (author) birthday
3 National Roof over Your Head Day
4 National Sock Day
4 National Cookie Day
5 Walt Disney’s birthday
6 National Microwave Oven Day
6 National Gazpacho Day
8 Eli Whitney (inventor) birthday
8 Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day
9 Joan Blos (author) birthday
9 International Children’s Day – Second Sunday in December
10 Dewey Decimal System Day
10 Nobel Prize Day
10 Emily Dickinson (poet) birthday
11 National App Day
12 National Ding-a-Ling Day
12 Gingerbread House Day
12 Barbara Emberley (author) birthday
13 Violin Day
13 National Guard Birthday
13 National Cocoa
15 National Wear Your Pearls Day
15 National Wreaths Across America Day
15 Ann Nolan Clark (author) birthday
16 National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
16 Quentin Blake (author) birthday
17 Wright Brothers Day
18 National Roast Suckling Pig Day
18 Answer The Telephone Like Buddy The Elf Day
19 National Hard Candy Day
19 Eve Bunting (author) birthday
21 Humbug Day
21 Look on the Bright Side Day
21 Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year
21 National French Fried Shrimp Day
21 National Flashlight Day
21Homeless Persons’ Remembrance Day
21 National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
22 National Date Nut Bread Day
22 Jerry Pinkney (author) birthday
23 Avi (author) birthday
23 Roots Day
24 Christmas Eve
25 A’Phabet Day or No “L” Day
25 Pam Munoz Ryan (author) birthday
26 Boxing Day
26 National Candy Cane Day
26 National Thank-you Note Day
27 Make Cut Out Snowflakes Day
27 Ingri D’Aulaire (author) birthday
28 National Chocolate Candy Day
28 Pledge of Allegiance Day
30 Bacon Day
30 National Bicarbonate of Soda Day
30 Rudyard Kipling (author) birthday
30 Mercer Mayer (author) birthday
31 Cynthia Leitich Smith (author) birthday
31 Leap Second Time Adjustment Day (Note: This is listed as an observance title only. Some years scientists do not make adjustments. But, if they do, then it’s done on either June 30 or December 31.)
Sources:
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/december.htm
https://nationaldaycalendar.com/december-overview/
“Power the World with STEAM” 2018 calendar from DK
“Birthday Calendar” 2016 calendar from Perma-bound