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, 2003
Day of Week 7th » The Conservative Party of Canada is officially registered, following the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
Day of Week 9th » A Red Square Bombing e.g blast in the center of Moscow kills six people and wounds several more.
Day of Week 13th » Iraq War: Operation Red Dawn Former President of Iraq or Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit.
Day of Week 14th » President of Pakistan or Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt.
Day of Week 17th » The Soham murders e.g Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, England, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend Maxine Carr is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
17th » SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes SpaceShipOne flight 11P e.g its first powered and first supersonic flight.
Day of Week 23rd » PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion, Guoqiao, Kai County, Chongqing, China, killing at least 234.
Day of Week 25th » The ill-fated 'Beagle 2' probe, released from the Mars Express Spacecraft on December 19, disappears shortly before its scheduled landing.
Day of Week 26th » A 2003 Bam earthquake called magnitude 6.6 earthquake devastates southeast Iranian city of Bam, Iran or Bam, killing tens of thousands and destroying the citadel of Arg-é Bam.
Day of Week 29th » The last known speaker of Akkala Sami language named Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct.