December 25
December 25 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 6 days remain until the year's end. It falls in winter (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Capricorn.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On December 25 the Sun's declination is approximately -23.3°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a December 25.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- Christmas Day, Christian festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. (Internationally observed)
- Christian feast day: Anastasia of Sirmium (Catholic Church)
- Christian feast day: Stephen (Armenian Apostolic Church)
- Christian feast day: December 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Children's Day (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Republic of Congo)
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
2024 — Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crashes in Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 of its occupants. ↗(2 years ago)more
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku, Azerbaijan, to Kadyrov Grozny International Airport near Grozny, Russia, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines.
2021 — The James Webb Space Telescope is launched. ↗(5 years ago)more
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. It is the largest telescope in space, and is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope.
2020 — An explosion in Nashville, Tennessee, occurs, leaving three civilians in the hospital. ↗(6 years ago)more
On December 25, 2020, Anthony Quinn Warner detonated a recreational vehicle (RV) bomb in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States, killing himself and injuring eight others, damaging dozens of buildings in the surrounding area.
2019 — Twenty people are killed and thousands are left homeless by Typhoon Phanfone in the Philippines. ↗(7 years ago)more
Typhoon Phanfone, known locally as Ursula, was a strong and deadly tropical cyclone which traversed the Philippines on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 2019, the first typhoon to do so since Nock-ten in 2016.
2016 — A Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 carrying members of the Alexandrov Ensemble crashes into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff, killing all 92 people on board. ↗(10 years ago)more
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation is the governing body of the Russian Armed Forces. The president of Russia is the commander-in-chief of the forces and directs the activity of the ministry. The minister of defence exercises day-to-day administrative and operational authority over the forces.
2012 — An Antonov An-72 plane crashes close to the city of Shymkent, killing 27 people. ↗(14 years ago)more
The Antonov An-72 is a transport aircraft, developed and produced by the Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov. The An-72 and the related An-74 get their nickname, Cheburashka, from the large engine intake ducts, which resemble the oversized ears of the popular Soviet animated character of the same name.
2012 — Air Bagan Flight 011, a Fokker 100, crashes on approach to Heho Airport in Heho, Myanmar, killing two people. ↗(14 years ago)more
Air Bagan Flight 011 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight of a Fokker 100 twinjet from Yangon to Heho, Myanmar. On 25 December 2012, the aircraft crash-landed short of the runway at Heho Airport in fog, coming to a stop in a paddy field and bursting into flames.
2007 — A Siberian tiger named Tatania escapes her exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo and attacks three people, killing one and injuring two more. ↗(19 years ago)more
The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies Panthera tigris tigris native to Northeast China, the Russian Far East, and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korean Peninsula, but was eradicated in the area during the period of Japanese rule between 1910 and 1945, and currently inhabits mainly the Sikhote-Alin mo...
2004 — The Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005. ↗(22 years ago)more
Cassini–Huygens, commonly called Cassini, was a joint space-research mission by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) to send a space probe to study the planet Saturn and its system, including its rings and natural satellites.
2003 — UTA Flight 141, a Boeing 727-223, crashes at the Cotonou Airport in Benin, killing 141 people. ↗(23 years ago)more
UTA Flight 141 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Guinean regional airline Union des Transports Africains de Guinée, flying from Conakry to Dubai with stopovers in Benin, Libya and Lebanon.
2003 — The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe, released from the Mars Express spacecraft on December 19, stops transmitting shortly before its scheduled landing. ↗(23 years ago)more
The Beagle 2 is an inoperative British Mars lander that was transported by the European Space Agency's 2003 Mars Express mission. It was intended to conduct an astrobiology mission that would have looked for evidence of past life on Mars.
1999 — Cubana de Aviación Flight 310, a Yakovlev Yak-42, crashes near Bejuma, Carabobo State, Venezuela, killing 22 people. ↗(27 years ago)more
Cubana de Aviación Flight 310 was a scheduled international flight from José Martí International Airport, Havana, Cuba, to Arturo Michelena International Airport, Valencia, Venezuela, which crashed near Bejuma, Venezuela, on 25 December 1999. All 10 passengers and 12 crew on board were killed.
Notable births
2000 — Wilfried Singo, Ivorian footballer ↗(26 years ago)more
Wilfried Stephane Singo is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and the Ivory Coast national team.
1999 — Adut Akech, South Sudanese-Australian fashion model ↗(27 years ago)more
Adut Akech Bior is a South Sudanese-Australian model. Akech made her fashion week runway debut as an exclusive in the Saint Laurent S/S 17 show and went on to close both their F/W 17 and S/S 18 shows as an exclusive. In 2018, she was chosen as "Model of the Year" by models.com, an honour which was repeated the next year.
1996 — Emiliano Buendía, Argentine footballer ↗(30 years ago)more
Emiliano Buendía Stati is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Argentina national team.
1992 — Mitakeumi Hisashi, Japanese sumo wrestler ↗(34 years ago)more
Mitakeumi Hisashi is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Agematsu, Nagano. He is in the Dewanoumi stable. He is a pusher thruster-type wrestler. A former amateur champion at Toyo University, he made his professional debut in March 2015, reaching the top makuuchi division in November of the same year.
- 1991 — Avu-chan, Japanese musician, songwriter, actor, model and producer ↗(35 years ago)
more
Avu-chan is a Japanese singer, songwriter, producer and actor. They debuted as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the band Queen Bee in 2009, and took on a side project as the lead vocalist and trumpeter of the supergroup Gokumontō Ikka in 2015.
Notable deaths
2024 — Britt Allcroft, English writer (born 1943) ↗(2 years ago)more
Britt Allcroft was an English screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actress. She adapted Wilbert Awdry's The Railway Series in the form of the children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. She created Shining Time Station, Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales, and Magic Adventures of Mumfie.
2024 — Bill Bergey, American football player (born 1945) ↗(2 years ago)more
William Earl Bergey was an American professional football linebacker who played for 12 seasons, most notably with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals of the American Football League (AFL) in the 1969 NFL/AFL draft, the year before the AFL–NFL merger was completed and continued to play wi...
2024 — Jax Dane, American professional wrestler (born 1976) ↗(2 years ago)more
Jeremy Dane Laymon was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Jax Dane. He was known for his tenure with various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) member promotions. He was a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, NWA National Heavyweight, NWA North American Heavyweight and NWA World Tag Team Champion.
2024 — M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Indian author and screenwriter (born 1933) ↗(2 years ago)more
Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Narayanan Nair was an Indian author, lecturer, screenplay writer, filmmaker and literary statesman. He was a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and was one of the masters of post-Independence Indian literature.
2024 — Osamu Suzuki, Japanese businessman (born 1930) ↗(2 years ago)more
Osamu Suzuki , was a Japanese businessman and the chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation. From 1978, Suzuki served as the CEO, president, and chairman of the company. In February 2021, Suzuki Motor Corporation announced that he would retire in June 2021 and assume the role of adviser.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (360) | 2^3 × 3^2 × 5 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (6) | 2 × 3 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 25122026 · next palindrome year: 2152 |
| Sun declination | -23.34° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 5 days |