Weird Holidays in December
Weird holidays in December somehow squeeze cookies, cocoa, champagne, and cat herding into the busiest month of the year.
Just when you think your calendar couldn’t fit one more celebration, along comes Cookie Exchange Day, Humbug Day, Chocolate Covered Anything Day, and enough festive food holidays to keep your oven permanently switched on.
Here’s every wonderfully weird holiday waiting for you this December.
December 1 – Eat a Red Apple Day
An apple a day probably doesn’t keep the doctor away, but it’s still a decent place to start.
Crisp, tart, covered in peanut butter, whatever. Sometimes the simplest snacks are the hardest to improve on.
December 2 – Fritters Day
Deep fried batter has a way of making almost anything taste better.
Apple fritters usually get the spotlight, but corn, banana, and berry versions deserve a turn too. Crispy outside, soft in the middle, hard to argue with.
December 3 – Peppermint Latte Day
If December had an official drink, this would be near the top.
Coffee, steamed milk, peppermint. Somehow makes a cold morning feel manageable, especially in a mug that only comes out during the holidays.
December 4 – Cookie Day
As if December needed another excuse to eat cookies.
Chocolate chip, gingerbread, shortbread, sugar cookies. There’s no wrong answer today. If you’re already baking, just call it celebrating. There are plenty more baking-themed celebrations to discover, including Sugar Cookie Day and Oreo Cookie Day.
December 4 – Dice Day
Every board game, casino, and family game night owes something to a pair of tiny cubes.
Rolling for a six, starting a game of Yahtzee, settling an argument the old fashioned way. Small object, decides everyone’s fate.
December 5 – Bathtub Party Day
Whoever invented this clearly understood the value of cancelling plans.
Hot water, bubbles, a candle if you’re feeling ambitious. An hour where nobody expects anything from you.
December 5 – Sacher Torte Day
Some cakes are all about the frosting. Sacher Torte skips that entirely.
This Austrian chocolate cake layers apricot jam under a glossy chocolate glaze. Rich without being over the top.
December 6 – Microwave Oven Day
Easy to forget the microwave completely changed how people cook.
Reheating leftovers, popcorn, relying on it far more than you’d admit. Convenience is worth celebrating occasionally.
December 7 – Cotton Candy Day
Cotton candy is somehow almost entirely sugar and almost entirely air.
County fairs, amusement parks, childhood circus trips. Half taste, half nostalgia.
December 8 – Brownie Day
Brownies have sparked one of baking’s great debates. Fudgy or cakey.
Whichever side you’re on, bake a batch today. They won’t last long once anyone finds out they’re on the counter. Sweet tooth? You’ll find even more dessert holidays, including World Chocolate Day, Chocolate Pudding Day, Ice Cream Sundae Day, and Apple Strudel Day.
December 9 – Pastry Day
Flaky, buttery pastry has rescued countless breakfasts and desserts.
Croissants, Danish pastries, turnovers, sausage rolls. Sweet or savory, hard to think of much that isn’t improved by pastry.
December 10 – Lager Day
Lager doesn’t get the attention craft beer does, but it’s quietly one of the most popular styles in the world.
Light, crisp, easy to drink. The beer most people reach for without thinking twice. Today it gets the credit.
December 11 – Noodle Ring Day
This is the one holiday that leaves people asking, what’s a noodle ring.
Popular in the mid 1900s. Buttered noodles baked into a ring mold, then filled with meat, vegetables, or a creamy sauce. Retro, definitely. Worth bringing back, your call.
December 12 – Ambrosia Day
Ambrosia shows up at family gatherings every year whether anyone requested it or not.
Fruit, marshmallows, coconut, whipped topping. Somewhere between a dessert and a salad, and nobody’s settled the debate.
December 13 – Cocoa Day
Some winter drinks try too hard. Hot cocoa doesn’t need to.
Marshmallows, whipped cream, or nothing at all. Wrapping your hands around a warm mug fixes a cold day faster than it should.
December 14 – Bouillabaisse Day
Bouillabaisse sounds fancy, but it started as a simple fisherman’s meal in the south of France.
Fish, shellfish, herbs, rich broth. The kind of dish worth slowing down for on a cold evening.
December 15 – Cat Herders Day
If you’ve ever tried to get two cats to do the same thing at the same time, you already understand this holiday.
A celebration of impossible tasks and days where nothing goes according to plan. Somehow that’s the fun part. Animal lovers can also celebrate Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day, Penguin Awareness Day, Squirrel Appreciation Day, and Take Your Dog to Work Day.
December 16 – Chocolate Covered Anything Day
The title says it all.
Fruit, yes. Pretzels, absolutely. Potato chips, surprisingly good. If it can be dipped in chocolate, someone’s already tried it.
December 17 – Maple Syrup Day
Maple syrup deserves better than being reserved for pancakes.
Waffles, oatmeal, glazed vegetables, baking. Once you start cooking with the real thing, it’s hard to go back. Breakfast fans shouldn’t miss Waffle Day, Pancake Day, and French Fry Day (okay, maybe that’s lunch!).
December 18 – Bake Cookies Day
If your kitchen doesn’t smell like cookies yet, today should fix that.
Baking for family, for friends, or purely to eat the dough straight from the bowl. Fits right into the run up to Christmas.
December 18 – Roast Suckling Pig Day
Not exactly a Tuesday dinner.
Roast suckling pig has centered celebrations for centuries, prized for crispy skin and tender meat. Impossible to ignore even if it’s not on your table.
December 19 – Hard Candy Day
Every family has a bowl of hard candy nobody remembers buying.
Peppermints, butterscotch, cinnamon drops. They appear every December and stick around well into the new year, whether anyone actually eats them.
December 20 – Sangria Day
Sangria’s more of a summer drink, but nobody said December is off limits.
Red wine, fruit, spices, a splash of something stronger. Easy to share when everyone’s gathered for the holidays.
December 21 – Flashlight Day
You never think about your flashlight until the power goes out.
A practical reminder to check the batteries and find the thing before you actually need it.
December 21 – Humbug Day
By late December, even the biggest Christmas fans hit a wall.
For anyone who’s had enough of shopping, wrapping, crowded stores, and holiday playlists on loop. Channel your inner Scrooge. You’ve earned it.
December 22 – Cookie Exchange Day
There’s something strangely competitive about a cookie exchange.
Everyone insists they “just threw something together” before unveiling cookies that belong in a bakery window. You’ll leave with more than you brought.
December 23 – Roast Chestnuts Day
Roasting chestnuts over an open fire sounds festive until you realize you need chestnuts and an open fire.
Still, that warm nutty flavor has been part of the holidays for generations. Today’s the excuse to find out what the song’s about.
December 24 – Eggnog Day
Eggnog splits people almost as much as fruitcake.
Some wait all year for the first glass. Others take one sip and remember why they stopped. Christmas Eve wouldn’t be the same without someone offering you one anyway.
December 25 – Christmas Day
The biggest celebration of the month.
Family traditions, mountains of wrapping paper, too much food, or just a chance to slow down. Looks different for everyone, and that’s the point.
December 26 – Candy Cane Day
Candy canes are everywhere in December, then gone for eleven months.
Straight from the wrapper, stirred into hot chocolate, hung on the tree if they survive that long. One of the few treats that doubles as decoration.
December 27 – Fruitcake Day
Fruitcake has become the punchline of Christmas jokes, and people keep making it anyway.
Dried fruit, nuts, spices. Fiercely defended or politely avoided, not much middle ground.
December 28 – Card Playing Day
If your family gets competitive over board games, this day probably comes with house rules already.
Poker, bridge, Uno, or an old deck missing a card or two. Gather around and see who takes winning too seriously.
December 29 – Pepper Pot Day
Pepper pot soup has been warming people up for centuries.
Beef, vegetables, plenty of black pepper. Long associated with Philadelphia, and exactly right for a cold evening.
December 30 – Bicarbonate of Soda Day
Not the most exciting thing in the cupboard, but one of the most useful.
Helps cakes rise, freshens the fridge, tackles stains, always has another job lined up. Not bad for a plain white powder.
December 31 – Champagne Day
If there’s ever a day for popping a cork, it’s this one.
Celebrating the year, looking forward to the next, or just enjoying the excuse. Arrives right before the countdown starts. Looking for more reasons to celebrate? Browse our drink holidays, including World Bartender Day, Pina Colada Day, Coffee Day, National Hot Toddy Day, and National Iced Tea Day.
December 31 – New Year’s Eve
The final weird holiday of the year isn’t weird at all. It’s just one of the biggest.
Fireworks, countdowns, parties, resolutions that may or may not survive until February. Here’s hoping next year brings just as many strange ones to celebrate.