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Almanac Mon 12/21/20

Kiwi fruit, by flickr user Toshiyuki IMAI

It's Kiwi Fruit Day...

 

Today is Monday, the 21st of December of 2020,

It is the 356th day of the year

10 days remain until the end of the year.

First Day of winter

In the Northern Hemisphere, December 21 is often the shortest day of the year and is sometimes regarded as the first day of winter.

In the Southern Hemisphere, December 21 is often the longest day of the year and occurs during the southern summer.

The sun will rise in San Francisco at 7:22 am 

and sunset will be at 4:54 pm.

Today we will have 9 hours and 32 minutes of sun.

The solar transit will be at 12:08 pm.

The first high tide was at 5:39 am 

The first low tide will be at 11:31 am 

The next high tide at 4:50 pm.

and the final low tide at Aquatic Park at 11:01 pm.

The Moon is 45.9% visible

It’s a Waxing Crescent moon

First Quarter Moon Today at 3:41 pm

Today is…

Anne and Samantha Day

Crossword Puzzle Day

Don't Make Your Bed Day

Forefathers' Day

Humbug Day

International Dalek Remembrance Day

National Coquito Day

National Flashlight Day

National French Fried Shrimp Day

National Hamburger Day

National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day

National Kiwi Fruit Day

National Look at the Bright Side Day

National Short Story Day

Phileas Fogg Win a Wager Day

Ribbon Candy Day

Short Girl Appreciation Day

The First Day of Winter

Yule

Today is also…

Armed Forces Day (Philippines)

Blue Christmas (some modern American liberal Protestant groups)

Dongzhi Festival (Asia)

Sanghamitta Day (Theravada Buddhism)

Yule in the Northern Hemisphere (Neopagan Wheel of the Year)

Ziemassvētki (ancient Latvia)

Forefathers' Day (Plymouth, Massachusetts)

São Tomé Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)

The first day of Pancha Ganapati, celebrated until December 25 (Saiva Siddhanta Church)

On this day in history…

1844 – The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers commences business at its cooperative in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement.

1879 – World premiere of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark.

1913 – Arthur Wynne's "word-cross", the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World.

1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world's first full-length animated feature, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre.

1965 – International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is adopted.

1995 – The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.

…and if today is your birthday, Happy Birthday To You!  You share this day with…

1615 – Benedict Arnold, Rhode Island colonial governor (d. 1678)

1795 – Jack Russell, English priest, hunter, and dog breeder (d. 1883)

1804 – Benjamin Disraeli, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1881)

1915 – Werner von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (d. 2007)

1917 – Heinrich Böll, German novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)

1918 – Donald Regan, American colonel and politician, 11th White House Chief of Staff (d. 2003)

1918 – Kurt Waldheim, Austrian colonel, war criminal, and politician; 9th President of Austria (d. 2007)

1922 – Paul Winchell, American actor, voice artist, and ventriloquist (d. 2005)

1935 – Phil Donahue, American talk show host and producer

1937 – Jane Fonda, American actress, producer, and activist

1940 – Frank Zappa, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1993)

1942 – Hu Jintao, Chinese engineer and politician, 5th Paramount leader of China

1944 – Michael Tilson Thomas, American pianist, composer, and conductor

1947 – Paco de Lucía, Spanish guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 2014)

1948 – Samuel L. Jackson, American actor and producer

1949 – Thomas Sankara, Burkinabé captain and politician, 5th President of Burkina Faso (d. 1987)

1950 – Jeffrey Katzenberg, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded DreamWorks Animation

1953 – András Schiff, Hungarian-English pianist and conductor

1953 – Betty Wright, American singer-songwriter

1966 – Kiefer Sutherland, British-Canadian actor, director, and producer