St. Nicholas' Day / Sinterklaas
Saint Nicholas, also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century Christian saint and Greek Bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor (modern-day Demre, Turkey). Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker. His legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus, through the Dutch Sinterklaas. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of everybody from sailors and merchants to archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers and students in various cities and countries around Europe. The best-known legend associated with him is his secret nightly gift of money to a pauper whose daughters would have had to remain unmarried if their father had not been able to pay their dowry. According to one version of the legend, in order to remain undetected, St. Nicholas dropped the final bag of gold down the chimney. According to another one, the daughter who was the intended recipient had washed her stockings that evening and hung them over the embers to dry, and that the bag of gold fell into a stocking. – Gifts that children find in their shoes (or stockings) on Sinterklaas / St. Nicholas Day include tangerines, walnuts, chocolates and cookies.

In German and parts of Central European folklore, St. Nicholas has a companion variously known as Knecht Ruprecht or Krampus. While Knecht Ruprecht is a human, Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure, half-goat, half-demon, possibly of pre-Christian origin. During the Christmas season, this companion punishes children who have misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards the well-behaved with gifts. Children can avoid punishment by, inter alia reciting a short piece of memorized poetry to St. Nicholas as a sign of good behavior.

International Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on December 10 every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on December 10, 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global enunciation of human rights and one of the first major achievements of the new United Nations, which celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2018. The day is usually marked by high-level political conferences and meetings and by cultural events and exhibitions organized by governmental and non-governmental organizations dealing with human rights issues. The Nobel Peace Prize is also awarded on this day.

The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize went to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali "for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.". You can watch him give his Award Ceremony Speech live on the Nobel Prize website on December 10, 2019.

St. Lucia’s Day
St. Lucia’s Day is a Christian feast day celebrated on December 13 in Advent, commemorating a 3rd-century martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution, who according to legend brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the catacombs using a candle-lit wreath to light her way and leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible. Her feast once coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year before calendar reforms, so her feast day has become a Christian festival of light. Falling within the Advent season, Saint Lucia's Day is seen as an event signaling the arrival of the Light of Christ on Christmas Day. Saint Lucia’s Day is celebrated most commonly in Scandinavia, where it is a major feast day, and in Italy. In Scandinavia, where the saint is called Santa Lucia in Norwegian and Sankta Lucia in Swedish, she is represented as a lady in a white dress (a symbol of a Christian's white baptismal robe) and a red sash (symbolizing the blood of her martyrdom) with a crown or wreath of candles on her head. In Norway, Sweden and Swedish-speaking regions of Finland, as songs are sung, girls dressed as Saint Lucia carry rolls and cookies in procession, which symbolizes bringing the light of Christianity throughout world darkness.

Winter Solstice (Yule / Yaldā Night / Dongzhi / Soyal)
Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere. The same day is the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere, giving them the longest day of the year. Winter Solstice is (and has historically been) a holiday celebrated in many cultures around the world.

Yuletide was a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples. Scholars have connected the celebration to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin, and the pagan Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht ("Night of the Mothers" or "Mothers' Night” in old English; an event held at what is now Christmas Eve.) Later departing from its pagan roots, Yule underwent Christianised reformulation resulting in the term Christmastide. Many present-day Christmas customs and traditions such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from pagan Yule traditions. Terms with an etymological equivalent to Yule are still used in Nordic countries and Estonia to describe Christmas and other festivals occurring during the winter holiday season.

Yaldā Night is the Iranian winter solstice festival. There, the longest and darkest night of the year is a time when friends and family gather together to eat, drink and read poetry (especially Hafez) until well after midnight. Fruits and nuts are eaten and pomegranates and watermelons are particularly significant. The red color in these fruits symbolizes the crimson hues of dawn and glow of life.

Soyal is the winter solstice ceremony of the Zuñi and the Hopi (Hopitu Shinumu, The Peaceful Ones[/i]). It is held on the shortest day of the year to ceremonially bring the sun back from its long winter slumber and also marks the beginning of another cycle of the Wheel of the Year, and is a time for purification. Paphos, prayer sticks, are made prior to the Soyal ceremony, to bless all the community, including their homes, animals, and plants. The sacred underground ritual chambers, called kivas, are ritually opened to mark the beginning of the Kachina season.

Dōngzhì, the Chinese winter solstice festival, is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians. Its origins can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this festival, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in. The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram fù (復, "Returning"). Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. Frequently (especially in the southern parts of China and in Chinese communities overseas) these family get-togethers will include the serving of tangyuan (湯圓), balls of glutinous rice cooked in a sweet soup or savory broth and sometimes brightly coloured in pink or green, which symbolize reunion.

Hanukkah
Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid (Macedonian Greek) Empire (167 to 160 BC). Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. It is also known as the Festival of Lights and the Feast of Dedication. The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of the nine-branched menorah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. The typical menorah consists of eight branches with an additional visually distinct branch. The extra light, with which the others are lit, is called a shamash (Hebrew: שמש‎‎, "attendant") and is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest. -- Other Hanukkah customs include playing dreidel and eating oil-based foods such as doughnuts and latkes, to mark the Miracle of the cruse of oil (Hebrew: נֵס פַּךְ הַשֶּׁמֶן) which, as described in the Talmud, occurred after the liberation of the Temple, where a jug of pure oil that was to be enough to light the lamp for one day but, instead, lasted for eight days.

Festivus
Festivus is is a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 as an alternative to the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas season. Originally created by author Daniel O'Keefe, Festivus entered popular culture after it was made the focus of the 1997 Seinfeld episode The Strike, which O'Keefe's son, Dan O'Keefe, co-wrote. The non-commercial holiday's celebration, as depicted on Seinfeld, includes a Festivus dinner, an unadorned aluminum Festivus pole, practices such as the "Airing of Grievances" and "Feats of Strength", and the labeling of easily explainable events as "Festivus miracles". The episode refers to it as "a Festivus for the rest of us".

Christmas
Christmas is the annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night (Epiphany). Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations.

The traditional Christmas narrative, the Nativity of Jesus, delineated in the New Testament says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in accordance with messianic prophecies. When Joseph and Mary arrived in the city, the inn had no room and so they were offered a stable where the Christ Child was soon born, with angels proclaiming this news to shepherds who then further disseminated the information.

Although the month and date of Jesus' birth are unknown, the church in the early fourth century fixed the date as December 25. This corresponds to the date of the solstice on the Roman calendar. Most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, which has been adopted almost universally in countries throughout the world. However, some Eastern Christian Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which currently corresponds to a January date in the Gregorian calendar.

The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath, Christmas music and caroling, lighting a Christingle, viewing a Nativity play, an exchange of Christmas cards, church services, a special meal, pulling Christmas crackers and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.

Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is a week-long annual celebration held in the United States and other nations of the African diaspora in the Americas to honor African heritage in African-American culture. It is observed from December 26 to January 1, culminating in gift-giving and a feast. Kwanzaa was created by American Black Power activist Maulana Karenga (Ronald McKinley Everett) and was first celebrated in 1966–67. Its name derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits of the harvest". The choice of Swahili, an East African language, reflects its status as a symbol of Pan-Africanism, especially in the 1960s, although most of the Atlantic slave trade that brought African people to America originated in West Africa.

Kwanzaa has seven core principles (Nguzo Saba), which were developed in 1965, a year before Kwanzaa itself. Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of these principles:

* Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
* Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves.
* Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems and to solve them together.
* Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
* Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
* Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
* Imani (Faith): To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Families celebrating Kwanzaa decorate their households with objects of art, colorful African cloth, and fresh fruits that represent African idealism. It is customary to include children in Kwanzaa ceremonies and to give respect and gratitude to ancestors. Libations are shared, generally with a common chalice, Kikombe cha Umoja, passed around to all celebrants. Celebratory symbols include a mat (Mkeka) on which other symbols are placed: a Kinara (candle holder), Mishumaa Saba (seven candles), mazao (crops), Mahindi (corn), a Kikombe cha Umoja (unity cup) for commemorating and giving shukrani (thanks) to African Ancestors, and Zawadi (gifts). Supplemental representations include a Nguzo Saba poster, a black, red, and green flag, and African books and artworks – all to represent values and concepts reflective of African culture and contribution to community building and reinforcement. Ears of corn represent the children celebrating and corn may be part of the holiday meal.

New Year's Eve / St. Sylvester's Day
December 31, the last day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, is New Year's Eve and, simultaneously, the seventh day of Christmastide. In many countries, the holiday is also known as Old Year's Day or St. Sylvester's Day.

The earliest known record of a New Year festival dates from about 2000 bce in Mesopotamia, where in Babylonia the new year (Akitu) began with the new moon after the spring equinox (mid-March) and in Assyria with the new moon nearest the autumn equinox (mid-September). For the Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians the year began with the autumn equinox (September 21), and for the early Greeks it began with the winter solstice (December 21). On the Roman republican calendar the year began on March 1, but after 153 bce the official date was January 1, which was continued in the Julian calendar of 46 bce.

In early medieval times most of Christian Europe regarded March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year, although New Year’s Day was observed on December 25 in Anglo-Saxon England. William the Conqueror decreed that the year begin on January 1, but England later joined the rest of Christendom and adopted March 25. The Gregorian calendar, adopted in 1582 by the Roman Catholic Church, restored January 1 as New Year’s Day, and most European countries gradually followed suit: Scotland, in 1660; Germany and Denmark, about 1700; England, in 1752; and Russia, in 1918.

New Year's Eve is frequently celebrated at evening social gatherings, where many people dance, eat, drink alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the new year. Some Christians attend a Watch Night service. The celebrations generally go on past midnight into New Year's Day, 1 January.

In terms of time zones, Samoa, Tonga and Kiritimati (Christmas Island), part of the Micronesian Republic of Kiribati, are the first places to welcome the New Year, while American Samoa and Baker Island (a Pacific atoll belonging to the U.S.A., just north of the equator and about halfway between Hawaii and Australia) are among the last.

Hogswatch
In Terry Pratchett's Discworld, the 32nd of December, or the day before the New Year, is known as Hogswatchnight. The name is a pun on "hogwash", Hogmanay and Watch Night, and possibly on the ancient holiday of Samhain (the Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year). Traditionally that holiday is associated with pig-killing, to ensure there is enough food for the rest of the winter. Many Hogswatch traditions are parodies of those associated with Christmas, including a decorated oak tree in a pot, strings of paper sausages, and, of course, a visit by the Hogfather. Witches do not leave the house on Hogswatchnight more because of tradition than any practical reasons. Nanny Ogg gets around this by simply inviting everyone to her house for the holiday instead.

In the Omnian religion, Hogswatchnight is called the Fast of St Ossory. Omnians celebrate with fasting, prayer meetings, and the exchange of religious pamphlets.

Hogswatch is also a holiday celebrated in Pratchett's non-Discworld novel The Dark Side of the Sun.

Twelfth Night / Epiphany
Epiphany, also known as Theophany, Denha, Little Christmas, Twelfth Night, or Three Kings' Day, is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child, and thus Jesus' physical manifestation. Eastern Christians commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God.

The traditional date for the feast is January 6. However, since 1970, the celebration is held in some countries on the Sunday after January 1. Eastern Churches following the Julian calendar observe the feast on what for most countries is January 19, because of the 13-day difference between that calendar and the Gregorian calendar. In many Western Christian Churches, the eve of the feast is celebrated as Twelfth Night. The Monday after Epiphany is known as Plough Monday.

Popular Epiphany customs include Epiphany singing, chalking the door, having one's house blessed, consuming Three Kings Cake, winter swimming, as well as attending church services. In many countries, it is customary for people to remove their Christmas decorations on Epiphany Eve (Twelfth Night), although elsewhere they may wait until Candlemas (the holiday commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple, celebrated on February 2).