December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars. It is one of seven months with the length of 31 days. December is the first month of meteorological winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, December is the seasonal equivalent to June in the Northern hemisphere, which is the first month of summer. December is the month with the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest daylight hours of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.
December symbols: Its birth flower is the narcissus. The birthstones of December are the turquoise, zircon, and tanzanite. The zodiac signs for the month of December are Sagittarius (until December 21) and Capricorn (December 22 onwards).
Historical Events for December, 1988
Day of Week 1st » Benazir Bhutto is appointed Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Day of Week 2nd » Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of an Islam-dominated state.
Day of Week 6th » The history of the Australian Capital Territory e.g Australian Capital Territory is granted self-government.
Day of Week 7th » 1988 Spitak earthquake named Spitak Earthquake: In Armenia an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter magnitude scale known as Richter scale kills more than 25,000, injures 30,000 and leaves 500,000 homeless out of a population of 3,500,000.
7th » Yasser Arafat recognizes the right of Israel to exist.
Day of Week 8th » A United States Air Force Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II called A-10 Thunderbolt II 1988 Remscheid A-10 crash e.g crashes into an apartment complex in Remscheid, Germany, killing 5 people and injuring 50 others.
Day of Week 9th » The Michael Hughes Bridge in Sligo, Ireland, is officially opened.
Day of Week 12th » The Clapham Junction rail crash kills thirty-five and injures hundreds after two collisions of three commuter trains—one of the worst train crashes in the United Kingdom.
Day of Week 13th » Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat gives a speech at a United Nations General Assembly UN General Assembly meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, after United States authorities refused to grant him a Visa (document) vis
Day of Week 14th » The ET3 (Greece) called ET3 television network is launched in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Day of Week 20th » The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is signed in Vienna, Austria.
Day of Week 21st » A bomb explodes on board Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270.
Day of Week 22nd » Chico Mendes, a Brazilian Rubber tapping rubber tapper, Trade union unionist and Environmentalism environmental activist, is assassination assassinated.
Day of Week 31st » First Winter Ascent of Lhotse (8,516m) by Krzysztof Wielicki (solo).