Dates in History
Work off the Thanksgiving poundage with a game of pick-up at your local court and celebrate the birthday of basketball (the game was created Dec. 1, 1891), then get ready for the stress of shopping season by remembering Tolerance Week (Dec. 1-7) Raise a toast to your co-workers as you celebrate Extraordinary Work Team Recognition Day on December 4, plant a tree in honor of poet Joyce Kilmer’s birthday on December 6 and finish the week by recognizing “a date that will live in infamy” – Pearl Harbor Day (Dec. 7).
Head to the library on December 10 - it’s Dewey Day, the birth anniversary of Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey Decimal. It’s also the day of the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony, held in Norway and Sweden, which, appropriately, coordinates with Human Rights Week.
As the middle of the month approaches, it is Bonza Bottler Day (Dec. 12), held whenever the number of the day is the same as the number of the month, or pause to ponder the difficulty of life on Cat Herders Day or Underdog Day (both held on Dec. 15).
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Chanukah, the Feast of Lights, commences on December 16 and lasts through December 23. Get in the holiday spirit with Broward County’s Winterfest Boat Parade, a tropical celebration of the season held December 16 on the Intracoastal Waterway. But if you’re feeling the holiday blues, hang on ‘til Humbug Day on December 21, when all those preparing for Christmas can gripe, grunt and get it out of their system before the 25th.
If you are south of the border on December 23? Get out your carving knife and veggies for the Feast of the Radishes in Oaxca, Mexico; figurines of people and animals, cleverly carved out of radishes, are sold, sweets are eaten and plates are smashed in the street.
On December 25, celebrate Christmas. Kwanzaa, a week-long family holiday created in recognition of traditional African harvest festivals, is held from December 26 to January 1. Finish up the month by making a decision December 31 – after all, it is Make Up Your Mind Day. It’s also New Year’s Eve, so grab your party hat and noisemaker to say goodbye to 2006 and hello to a brand-new year!
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