December 25 in Pop Culture History

December 25th History, Trivia, and Fun Facts

December 25th History Highlights

  • 800 – The coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.
  • 1066 – William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy was crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.
  • 1758 – Halley’s Comet was sighted by Johann Georg Palitzsch, per Edmund Halley’s prediction.
  • 1776 – George Washington crossed the Delaware River from Bucks County, PA, to surprise attack the Hessians in Trenton, New Jersey, winning the battle and changing the course of The Revolutionary War.
  • The Eggnog Riot, sometimes known as the Grog Mutiny, was a drunken riot that took place at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, on December 24-25 1826. 70 cadets were implicated.
  • 1950 – The Steve Allen Show premiered on CBS.
  • If you were born on December 25th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… April 2nd (same year)

Christmas Day

“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.’ “
– Luke, chapter two

December 25th is…

A’phabet Day (no L)
Christmas
National Pumpkin Pie Day

December 25th Birthday Quotes

“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.”
– Yeshua (Jesus Christ)

“How many observe Christ’s Birth-day! how few his Precepts! O! ’tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments.”
– Benjamin Franklin

“All you owe the public is a good performance.”
– Humphrey Bogart (Said to Frank Sinatra)

Christmas is the one time of year when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ.
– Bart Simpson, The Simpsons, 1989

“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”
– Yeshua (Jesus Christ)

“The only real blind person at Christmas-time is he who has not Christmas in his heart.”
– Helen Keller

“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.”
– Isaac Newton

December 25th Birthdays

~ 5 BC to 0 AD Jesus, Traditional Date (traditional birth date, crucified between 30 and 33 AD)
1642 – Isaac Newton, English physicist, and mathematician (died in 1726/1727)
1757 – Benjamin Pierce, American politician (died in 1839)
1821 – Clara Barton, American nurse, founder of the American Red Cross (died in 1912)
1878 – Louis Chevrolet, Swiss auto driver, and engineer, co-founded Chrysler (died in 1941)
1884 – Evelyn Nesbit, American model (died in 1967)
1887 – Conrad Hilton, American hotel entrepreneur (died in 1979)
1889 – Lila Bell Wallace, American publisher, co-founder of Reader’s Digest (died in 1984)
1890 – Robert Ripley, American anthropologist, and publisher, Believe It Or Not! (died in 1949)
1899 – Humphrey Bogart, American actor (died in 1957)
1907 – Cab Calloway, American singer-songwriter and bandleader (died in 1994)
1913 – Tony Martin, American singer (died in 2012)
1918 – Anwar Sadat, Egyptian politician (died in 1981)
1924 – Rod Serling, American screenwriter, and producer, creator of The Twilight Zone (died in 1975)
1928 – Dick Miller, American character actor (died in 2019)
1932 – Mabel King, American actress (died in 1999)
1945 – Rick Berman, American screenwriter
1946 – Jimmy Buffett, American singer-songwriter
1948 – Barbara Mandrell, American singer-songwriter
1949 – Sissy Spacek, American actress
1950 – Karl Rove, American political strategist
1954 – Annie Lennox, Scottish singer-songwriter
1958 – Rickey Henderson, American baseball player
1958 – Alannah Myles, Canadian singer-songwriter
1971 – Dido, English singer-songwriter
1971 – Justin Trudeau, Canadian politician

December 25th History

December 25, 3018 T.A. (fiction) The Company of the Ring left Rivendell, The Lord of the Rings, Books

0 (possibly 4 or 6 BC) – Jesus was born.

350 – Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the official celebration date for the birthday of Christ.

800 – Charlemagne was coronated as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.

1066 – William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, was crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.

1643 – Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, was found and named by English Captain William Mynors.

1776 – George Washington led a successful raid on the Hessian/British troops in Trenton, NJ. There are reports that the usually stoic future president made a request of the big-boned General Harry Knox: “shift that fat ass Harry, but slowly, or you’ll swamp the damned boat.”

1809 – The first US ovariotomy (the surgical removal of an ovarian tumor) was performed by Dr. Ephraim McDowell, in Danville, KY.

1815 – The Handel and Haydn Society gave its first performance in Boston, MA.

1868 – US President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to all Civil War Confederate soldiers and officers.

1914 – German and British soldiers stopped firing late Christmas Eve and started singing Christmas Carols. In the morning, they exited their trenches and walked towards the side of their enemies shouting ‘Merry Christmas.’ Both sides stopped fighting, played football (soccer), and even exchanged token gifts.

1941 – Bing Crosby premiered White Christmas on his weekly radio show.

1962To Kill a Mockingbird, a film based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Harper Lee, opened in theaters.

1965 – #1 Hit December 25, 1965 – December 31, 1966: The Dave Clark Five – Over and Over

1971 – #1 Hit December 25, 1971 – January 14, 1972: Melanie – Brand New Key

1987Good Morning, Vietnam debuted in theaters.

1989 – Nicolae Ceaucescu, the last dictator of Romania, together with his wife, was executed by firing squad after a two-hour trial.

1990The Godfather Part III was released in theaters.

1992Chaplin and Hoffa were released in theaters.

1993 – #1 Hit December 25, 1993 – January 21, 1994: Mariah Carey – Hero

1993 – Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Grumpy Old Men were released in theaters.

1996 – JonBenet Ramsey was murdered in her home.

1998Mighty Joe Young was released in theaters.

1999 – Galaxy Quest and The Talented Mr. Ripley were released in theaters.

2001Kate and Leopold and Ali debuted in theaters.

2003Cheaper by the Dozen debuted in theaters.

2007Aliens Vs. Predator – Requiem and The Bucket List debuted in theaters.

2008The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Marley & Me, Valkyrie, and Bedtime Stories debuted in theaters.

2009Sherlock Holmes and It’s Complicated were released in theaters.

2011War Horse was released in theaters.

2012 – Django Unchained, Les Miserables, and Parental Guidance were released in theaters.

2013Lone Survivor, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Grudge Match, and 47 Ronin were released in theaters.

2014The Interview, Selma, Unbroken, Into the Woods, and American Sniper were released in theaters.

#1 Hit December 25, 2021 – January 14, 2022: All I Want for Christmas Is YouMariah Carey

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

ISAAC NEWTON’S THIRD LAW: Whenever one body exerts a force upon a second body, the second body exerts an equal and opposite force upon the first body.
PARKINSON’S LAW II: Expenditure rises to meet income.
SEGAL’S LAW: A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure.

The Terminator is the only cinematic character to appear on AFI’s list of Top 100 Villains and Heroes twice, once under each category.

Doc Brown needed 1.21 gigawatts of electricity to generate to power the Delorean in “Back to the Future”.

The Orcs in The Lord Of The Rings have fabrics right? So… Does that mean they have Orc textilers? Orc fashion models? Are they always Orc angry all the time?

Chisholm’s Second Law: When things are going well, something will go wrong.

Walt Disney refused to grant Alfred Hitchcock permission to shoot a movie inside Disneyland, “because he made that disgusting film Psycho.”

C.S. Lewis’ middle name is Staples.

Biggest film of 2014: American Sniper (Drama) earned ~ $350,000,000

Every time you get dressed, remember that, if you die, that’s your ghost outfit forever.

When co-inventing the CD, Sony and Phillips agreed the length should be 74 minutes as to fit Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.

Australia has three A’s, all pronounced differently.

The wife of the French Minister of Finance murdered the editor of Le Figaro in 1914. She was later acquitted due to her “uncontrollable female emotions”.

A group of Stockbrokers is called a Portfolio.

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