Recognized in December

During December, BEPC recognizes the following:

December 1 WORLD AIDS DAY International Day of Action on HIV and AIDS.

December 3 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES Raises awareness about persons with disabilities in order to improve their lives and provide them with equal opportunity.

December 8 BODHI DAY • Buddhist Also known as Rohatsu, commemorates the day that the Buddha, Siddharta Gautama, experienced enlightenment or spiritual awakening (bodhi). Celebrated on the eighth day either of December or the 12th month of the lunar calendar.

December 10 HUMAN RIGHTS DAY On this day in 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

December 12 OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE • Christian Celebrates the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary (by her title, Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of Mexico and the Americas) before Juan Diego, an indigenous convert to Roman Catholicism, on the Mexican hill of Tepeyac in 1531.

December 15 BILL OF RIGHTS DAY Commemorates the signing into law of the ten original amendments of the United States Constitution in 1791.

December 19–26 CHANUKAH • Jewish Eight-day “Festival of Lights”, also known as Hanukkah, celebrating the rededication of the Temple to the service of God in 164 BCE. Commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Greek King, Antiochus, who sought to suppress freedom of worship.

December 21 WINTER SOLSTICE Marks the first day of the season of winter. The length of time between sunrise and sunset is the shortest of the year with the sun shining closest to the Southern Hemisphere and the farthest from the Northern Hemisphere.

December 24 CHRISTMAS EVE • Christian Celebration of the arrival of Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus.

December 25 CHRISTMAS • Western Christian Commemorates the birth of Jesus.

December 26, 2022 - January 1, 2023  KWANZAA A seven-day celebration honoring African American heritage and its continued vitality. “Kwanzaa” means “first fruits (of the harvest)” in Swahili.

December 29 WOUNDED KNEE DAY On December 29, 1890 more than 200 Lakota Sioux were massacred by U.S. troops at Wounded Knee in South Dakota.

December 31 NEW YEAR’S EVE In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, the last day of the year, is on December 31. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated at evening social gatherings, where many people dance, eat, drink. etc.