December is a festive month, inspiring poetry by the likes of Samuel Taylor Coleridge (not always jolly) as the year comes to a close. There’s still a lot to complete and do when it comes to special events.

Key dates for your December 2024 calendar

📅 Rosa Parks Day (US) | 1 December 2024

👉 Rosa Parks Day, is observed on two different dates: February 4th to commemorate her birthday and December 1st to remember the day she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus in 1955.

📅 World Aids Day | 1 December 2024

👉 Since 1988, communities have stood together on World AIDS Day to show strength and solidarity against HIV stigma and to remember lives lost.

📅 International Day of Persons with Disabilities | 3 December 2024

👉 Did you know that globally, 1.5 billion people live with a disability? Of these, 61 million live in the U.S. alone, and 13.9 million in the U.K. International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed annually on December 3rd. Discover PepTalk’s top international disability awareness speakers.

📅 International Volunteer Day | 5 December 2024

👉 This day celebrates the efforts of volunteering on December 5th each year. The monthly number of volunteers aged 15 years and over amounts to 862.4 million worldwide — wow!

📅 Human Rights Day | 10 December 2024

👉 Human Rights Day is when the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights is awarded every five years and the Nobel Peace Prize is also awarded. The youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize was 17 years old, while the oldest recipient was 87. Explore PepTalk's very own humanitarian experts.

📅 Christmas Jumper Day | TBC, December 2024

👉 One of the UK’s most fashionable days allows everyone to wear the most festive jumper possible, in order to raise money for charity, like Save The Children.

📅 Arabic Language Day  | 18 December 2024

👉 World Arabic Language Day has been celebrated every year on 18 December since 2012. The date coincides with the day in 1973 when the United Nations adopted Arabic as the sixth official language.

📅 Winter Solstice (Northern Hemisphere) | 21 December 2024

👉 The winter solstice represents the beginning of astronomical winter and is the shortest day, with the least daylight.

📅 Hanukkah (Chanukah) | starts 25 December 2024

👉 The eight-day Jewish festival starts at sunset on 25 December this year and ends at nightfall on January 2nd 2025. Chag sameach!

📅 Christmas Eve and Christmas Day  | 24 and 25 December 2023

👉 Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, which is celebrated worldwide in a more secular way to bring some festive cheer to the cold winter months and nights. An example of this is Whamageddon, a game played during the 24 days before Christmas. In this game, players try to go from 1 December to the end of Christmas Eve (24 December) without hearing "Last Christmas" by Wham! If the player hears the song between those days, they are out of the game and have to post "#Whamageddon" on social media to indicate that they have lost.

📅 Kwanzaa | 26 December 2024 - 1 January 2025

👉 Kwanzaa is an African-American and Pan-African holiday that celebrates history, values, family, community, and culture. The holiday gets its name from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza” and is rooted in first fruit celebrations, which are found in cultures throughout Africa, both ancient and modern.

📅 New Year’s Eve  | 31 December 2024

👉 ‍As the world completes another lap around the sun, we take the opportunity to reflect on both the good, and the bad of 2024. Here’s to a fantastic New Year!

Explore The Rest of 2024

Key cultural calendar dates, weeks and observances for the rest of 2024 and beyond:

💡 Would you like to mark any of these events with an expert speaker? Let us know, and we’ll find the perfect PepTalk expert for your organisation. Email us at hello@getapeptalk.com or send us a message via the chat. You can also call us on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US). Remember, it’s always a good time to get a PepTalk!

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