The countdown is officially on! There are only 24 days until Christmas and for some, you’ve already had sugar plums dancing in your heads well before Thanksgiving. With only three shopping weekends left until the big day, there’s no doubt some of us will be scrambling at the end. On the other hand, Christmas may not be the only reason for some of you to enjoy the twelfth month of the year. Some may share birthdays and anniversaries with old St. Nick! If you have something to celebrate in December, other than Christmas, here are a few statistics on what you can expect in the upcoming weeks!
- December is one of seven months that has a length of 31 days.
- December is the month with the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest daylight hours of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Rockefeller Center will hit the switch on its landmark Christmas tree Wednesday, December 3 between 7 and 9 pm and will remain lit until January 7, 2015. And if you didn’t know, this year’s famous New York tree is ‘local’. The 85 foot, 13-ton Norway spruce is from Hemlock Township, PA right near Bloomsburg, PA! Once the holiday season is over, the tree will return to PA and its wood will be used to build homes for Habitat for Humanity. Go PA! - December 4 is St. Barbara’s Day. What’s that you say? It’s a Christmas tradition that has unfortunately been lost. According to the lore, if a young women places a twig from a cherry tree in a glass of water today and it blooms by Christmas Eve, then she is certain to marry in the following year. All you single ladies, hoping for someone to put a ring on it in the upcoming year, give it a try and be the first to let Mountz know if it worked!
- Pearl Harbor Day in the United States is December 7.
- It’s been 75 years since the movie premiere of GONE WITH THE WIND and it’s still going strong! To celebrate this iconic novel, On December 15 I’m going to open the book for the first time and commit to reading it! Who’s with me?! To those who have already read this treasured classic, why not curl up and watch the move to celebrate.
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The Jewish culture will begin its Hanukkah celebration on the evening of Tuesday, December 16. Be sure to get your shopping done nice and early! - First Day of Winter is Sunday, December 21. Will we have a White Christmas in 2014? We certainly had a White Thanksgiving!
- Americans celebrate Christmas Eve on December 24, making many of their final holiday purchases. Stop by any Mount location from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. before starting your annual holiday traditions!
- Merry Christmas! Children all over the world will wake-up to piles of presents left by Santa Claus the night before! And hopefully you weren’t naughty and you’ll find a few beautifully wrapped gifts left by the Mountz elves!
- Kwanzaa begins December 26 and lasts until January 1!
- New Year’s Eve is December 31 and Mountz wishes you a wonderful New Year. Be safe wherever you celebrate!
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December’s birthstones are blue turquoise and blue topaz which is said to be the symbol of fidelity and love. - December’s flower is the holly or poinsettia.
- December’s Zodiac signs are Sagittarius (until December 21) and Capricorn (December 22 onwards).
- December celebrity birthdays: Bette Midler and Woody Allen (1), Britney Spears and Aaron Rodgers (2), Ozzy Osbourne (3), Jay Z and Marisa Tomei (4), Nicki Minaj (8), Bob Barker and Mayim Bialik (12), Taylor Swift and Jamie Fox (13), Benjamin Bratt (16), Brad Pitt, Christina Aguilera and Steven Spielberg (18), Alyssa Milano and Jake Gyllenhaal (19), Jonah Hill (20), Samuel Jackson and Jane Fonda (21), Jordin Sparks and Ralph Fiennes (22), Ryan Seacrest (24), Jimmy Buffett (25), Denzel Washington and John Legend (28), Jude Law (29) and LeBron James and Tiger Woods (30).
