December 25 is an obvious date for Christians who observe Christmas celebrations because it means making merry, having fun, and enjoying scrumptious meals with friends and family.
How about you take a look at these significant events that happened on this day in history as you make merry with your loved ones?
- 0800 – Charlemagne was crowned first Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III.
- 1066 – William the Conqueror was crowned king of England.
- 1643 – Christmas Island was discovered.
- 1809 – First abdominal surgery was performed. It took about 30minutes and no anesthesia was used.
- 1818 – “Silent Night” a Christmas hymn was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria.
- 1868 – U.S. President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion that resulted in the Civil War.
- 1914 – During World War I, British and German troops observed an unofficial truce and even playing football together on the Western Front.
- 1926 – Hirohito became the 124th emperor of Japan after the death of his father, Emperor Taisho.
- 1941 – Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese.
- 1962 – USSR performed a nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR.
- 1965 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a halt to bombing operations in North Vietnam, hoping to spur peace talks.
- 1972 – The Nicaraguan capital Managua was hit by an earthquake. Over 10,000 people were killed.
- 1977 – Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in Egypt.
- 1979 – USSR invaded Afghanistan.
- 1983 – The 1st Christmas Parade at the EPCOT Centre, Disney World, Florida was telecast live.
- 1989 – Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena were executed.
- 1991 – Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev went on television to announce his resignation as leader of a Communist superpower that had already gone out of existence.
- 1997 – For the 1st time, US movie box office receipts pass $6 billion
- 2000 – Over 300 people were killed and dozens were injured by fire at a Christmas party in the Chinese city of Luoyang.
- 2008 – Phil Jackson became the sixth coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games