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Almanac - Wednesday 12/22/2021

The Dōngzhì Festival or Winter Solstice Festival
Reedz Malik
/
Flickr Creative Commons
The Dōngzhì Festival or Winter Solstice Festival

Today is Wednesday, the 22nd of December, 2021

December 22 is the 356th day of the year

nine days remain until the end of the year.

87 days until spring begins

The sun rises in San Francisco at 7:22:18 am

and the sun sets at 4:55:39 pm.

Today we will have 9 hours and 33 minutes of daylight.

Solar noon will be at 12:08:58 pm.

The first high tide was at 1:41 am at 4.76 feet

The first low tide will be at 6:11 am at 3.4 feet

The next high tide will be at 11:41 am at 5.77 feet

and the final low tide at Ocean Beach tonight will be at 6:55 pm at -0.44 feet

The Moon can be currently 90.0% visible

It’s a Waning Gibbous Moon

We’ll have the Last Quarter Moon in 5 days on Sunday the 26th of December of 2021 at 6:24 pm

Today is…

Abilities Day

National Cookie Exchange Day

National Date Nut Bread Day

Today is also…

Dongzhi Festival

Armed Forces Day in Vietnam

Mother's Day in Indonesia

National Mathematics Day in India

Teachers' Day in Cuba

Unity Day in Zimbabwe

On this day in history…

1807 – The Embargo Act, forbidding trade with all foreign countries, is passed by the U.S. Congress, at the urging of President Thomas Jefferson.

1808Ludwig van Beethoven conducts and performs in concert at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, with the premiere of his Fifth Symphony, Sixth Symphony, Fourth Piano Concerto (performed by Beethoven himself) and Choral Fantasy (with Beethoven at the piano).

1937 – The Lincoln Tunnel opens to traffic in New York City.

1971 – The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders is founded by Bernard Kouchner and a group of journalists in Paris, France

1989 – Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany.

2010 – The repeal of the Don't ask, don't tell policy, the 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the United States military, is signed into law by President Barack Obama.

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

1639Jean Racine, French poet and playwright (d. 1699)

1858Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer and educator (d. 1924)

1862Connie Mack, American baseball player and manager (d. 1956)

1883 – Edgard Varèse, French-American composer (d. 1965)

1901Andre Kostelanetz, Russian-American conductor and composer (d. 1980)

1905 – Kenneth Rexroth, American poet, translator, and academic (d. 1982)

1912 – Lady Bird Johnson, American beautification activist; 38th First Lady of the United States (d. 2007)

1915Barbara Billingsley, American actress (d. 2010)

1917Gene Rayburn, American game show host and actor (d. 1999)

1922 – Jim Wright, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 2015)

1936James Burke, Irish historian and author

1943 – Paul Wolfowitz, American banker and politician, 25th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense

1945 – Diane Sawyer, American journalist

1949Maurice Gibb, Manx-English singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2003)

1949 – Robin Gibb, Manx-English singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2012)

1955 – Lonnie Smith, American baseball player

1962Ralph Fiennes, English actor

1970Ted Cruz, American lawyer and politician