So I sat down this morning thinking I need to get a handle on December 2024. You know how it is, the year just flies by and suddenly it’s the holiday season and you’re completely unprepared. I figured making a clear list of all the holidays and important dates would be a good start.
Getting Started Was a Mess
First thing I did was open up a blank document. I just stared at it for a good five minutes. My brain was totally empty. I knew Christmas was in there somewhere, but that was about it. I needed a plan.
I decided to start with the obvious stuff. I opened up a search engine and just typed in “December 2024 holidays.” I got a bunch of results, but they were all over the place. Some sites listed only US federal holidays, others had international days. It was a real mix.
Sorting Through the Information
I started copying and pasting everything into my document. It looked like a huge mess. I had dates and names all jumbled up. I needed to organize this. So I went through the list and picked out the ones that seemed most common or important.
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Here’s the basic list I ended up with first:
- December 1 – First Sunday of Advent (for a lot of people)
- December 6 – St. Nicholas Day
- December 7 – Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (in the US)
- December 24 – Christmas Eve
- December 25 – Christmas Day
- December 26 – Boxing Day / St. Stephen’s Day
- December 31 – New Year’s Eve
But that felt too short. I knew there was more. I remembered things like Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, but I had to check the exact dates for 2024. A quick search showed me that Hanukkah starts pretty early that year.
Filling in the Gaps
This is where it got interesting. I realized I was mostly thinking about Western holidays. I wanted to be a bit more inclusive, so I looked up other cultural and religious observances. I found a few more to add to my calendar.
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My more complete list looked like this:
- December 1 – First Sunday of Advent
- December 6 – St. Nicholas Day
- December 7 – Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (US)
- December 25 – Christmas Day
- December 26 – Boxing Day / Kwanzaa begins
- December 31 – New Year’s Eve
- And Hanukkah starts at sundown on December 25th, running through January 2nd.
Putting it all together, I finally had a decent overview. It wasn’t just about knowing the days off work, but about understanding what’s happening around the world. It makes planning so much easier, whether it’s for sending cards, scheduling meetings, or just knowing why things might be quiet or busy.
In the end, I felt pretty good about it. A simple task, but it really helps to see it all laid out clearly. Now I’m ready for December 2024, whenever it decides to show up.