Port Blair

Port Blair - Jolly Buoy Island

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Unlikely news this year

Unlikely news of 2012 is the follow up to the similar post that i wrote last year. You can find it here. This year,it is a continuation of the same theme.The news stories and events that are most unlikely to take place in India in 2012. Unlikely news this year - India Edition.

1. Economy growing at 8%
2. Bangalore becomes less congested
3. India becomes a fully electrified nation
4. India bags a permanent UN Security Council seat
5. Cross country flights becoming cheaper than ever
6. Indian cricket team winning an overseas test series
7. Nokia becomes the market leader in smartphones
8. India wins more medals than Jamaica at the London Olympics
9. Rahul Gandhi not putting his foot in mouth; when he is not busy shooting it
10. A bald guy who is not Ramesh Srivats has the funniest twitter stream
11. Sunny Leone not being featured in Google Zeitgiest India results
12. The media not going bonkers for Saif Ali Khan – Kareena Kapoor wedding details
13. Calling to UK and US becomes cheaper than it is to call from UK and US
14. CBI becomes a fully automonous body (giggle, chukle, rofl.. I know I know)
15. Narendra Modi losing Assembly elections in Gujarat
16. Book store chains do better business than Flipkart*
17. Diesel prices are completely deregulated
18. Taarak Mehta ka ooltah chasmah goes off air.
19. UP is trifurcated and Hyderabad becomes the 8^th Union Territory.
20. Ajmal Kasab is refused his Friday Biryani until further notice.
21. Sharad Pawar gets slapped.Again.In Public.
22. BSNL/MTNL not requesting for government bailouts
23. The word ‘Chep’ enters the Oxford dictionary.
24. NID comes out with better designed Rs.1,2,5 and 10 coins.
25. The centre caring a damn about Manipur once the elections are done.
26. An independent film grosses 50 crores ( I do wish this happens)
27. Manmohan Singh stepping down as PM due to frustration.
28. Leander Paes inks a million dollar sponsorship deal.
29. No cases of Indian students being roughed up in US,UK, Canada, Australia etc.
30. Mid-term general elections.

Feel free to add more in the comments section, i will surely include them.

Gujju Bond

There was a very interesting trending topic on Twitter sometime in September last year called #Gujju Bond. The tweets were witty takes on what it would it be like to have a Gujarati secret agent on the lines of James Bond. In the first week of January 2012 , #Being Gujju also trended.

Here’s the list of some of the most popular ones related to Gujju Bond and others that i have added especially for this post.

Gujju Bond's favourite weapon is dandiya sticks.

Gujju Bond got his license to kill because he has some Kontakts in RTO

Gujju Bond will have his number as 700. 700 is greater than 007. Business sense.

Gujju Bond 's favourite car is Tata Nano!

Gujju Bond often retorts ame bau Kool che! ok?!

Gujju Bond's favourite drink is sherdi no ras!

Gujju Bond sings sanedo while driving.

Gujju Bond’s nephews play with khakra as frisbees... & khaman is their spongebob...

Gujju Bond - Reliance ni kasam..maari nakhis, todi nakhis...bukko kari nakis....

Gujju Bond does not go on a mission between 9.30 am -3.30 pm, Mon-Fri.. - BSE trade timings.

Gujju Bond is subject to market risks. Pleasereadtheofferdocumentcarefullybeforeinvesting.

Gujju Bond wears Only Vimal.

Gujju Bond likes doodh cold dreenk.

Gujju Bond dunks his dhoklas in Wagh Bakri tea.

Gujju Bond religiously attends the yearly Reliance AGM; in disguise.

Gujju Bond drinks chhanch (buttermilk) instead of Martini , shaken not stirred.

Gujju Bond studies Rajnikanth movies for coolness tips.

Gujju Bond has this wallpaper on his mobile.

Gujju Bond watches Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah as in-flight entertainment*

Gujju Bond when in mood is a humorous guy. He has plenty of jocks*

Gujju Bond likes to slip off the radar and vacations in Mount Abu*

Gujju Bond stars in the upcoming flick Diamonds are from Surat *

Gujju Bond can make Barbara Broccoli wait*

Gujju Bond has Devang Patel's Gambler song on his i-pod*

Gujju Bond doesn't play cricket, he plays bat ball*

Gujju Bond's talent was spotted by Ba, when aged 8*

Gujju Bond has a season pass at the Wembley Stadium*

Gujju Bond can snip your kite from Baroda by flying his from Surat*

Gujju Bond is at ease- both at Patang Hotel and Burj Khalifa, but he prefers Patang*

Gujju Bond has secret holiday homes in Nairobi, Leicester and Melbourne*

Gujju Bond in his childhood used to hangout in Municipal Market on CG Road*

Gujju Bond is so cool, he beds chics anytime he wants and not just during Navratri*

Gujju Bond can beat Sebestian Vettel in an F1 race starting from the back of the grid with a Nano!

The name is Bond. Jignesh Bond.

# Disclaimer

People who have written the original tweets can recognise theirs and claim credit (I was lazy to have not written down your names) . The lines with asterisk* are my GujjuBond lines. This post is not meant to offend anybody and should be taken in a sporting manner. People from Gujarat can take a joke on themselves, so i think i am in the clear.

January Blues

Ah bleurgh..the blues that you get when the holiday season is over. It mostly starts on January 2 and lasts until the February 1, sometimes until Valentines’ Day. It is an unpleasant time because the holiday season is over, spring is far off and you sulk in cold weather with minimal inspiration to get out of the bed early and begin the day.

January is a cold month – for those of us living in the northern hemisphere at least, while Argentina, South Africa and Australia enjoy warm climate. January has all the bite and chill of the winter but the warmth of the festivals is gone. It is an anti-climax month and has very depressing properties. All are trudging their lives back to the routine and often suffer from post holiday blues. January that ways has an eerie similarity to Monday. Monday has to come after the much prized weekends. Also, you can’t take a trip too, on the account of

1)that’s done in holidays , 2) you just don’t have the money and 3) you got to get to work.

Most people suffer from inertia and laze to get things rolling back as before the festivities. It is also the time when most people are well on the way to breaking many of their New Year resolutions and that doesn’t make one feel good about yourself.Nonetheless, one should definitely look forward to most events, television shows, sports schedules, game seasons that start or re-start in January.

A shot of endorphin is a must to feel happy, so try and do things that should give you happiness .

• Bonfire.
• Go out. Simple. As much as you can.
• Attend those weddings that are a norm in India in winters.
• Have you tried ice-cream lately? Yes, in winters they taste excellent as well.
• Surf stumbleupon.com for 6 hours straight. You will learn and be entertained.
• Watch the movies that you could not during holidays; be ready for the Oscar season.
• If you are rich enough, the Dubai Shopping festival is on between Jan 5- February 5.

This would be a great time to be travel show host ! Sigh, if only ! January Blues. But you can beat the blues and not end up saying bleurgh.

Sydney - The Michael Clarke Test

The 2012 New Year’s Test at Sydney Cricket Ground was special for the hallowed ground. It was hosting its 100^th Test. The SCG as always provided great cricketing action. This is however quite simply, The Michael Clarke Test. He started off by predicting that Ricky Ponting will come good and he was right. If only he could say what he was about to do !

Ricky Ponting came into the series with his career hanging on the slightest of threads. The owner of the most beautiful pull shot in the game had not reached 3 figures since his 209 in Hobart in January 2010. He was struggling, but then he was prepared for a scrape and fight out in the middle and then he found his game at Sydney. His 134 may have been only the third highest score behind Michael Clarke’s 329* and Michael Hussey's 150* , but it gave the most emotional moment of the test. He knew he had misjudged the single and was a direct hit away from being stranded at 99. The way he scampered to reach from 99 to 100 and diving full stretch showed his desire to breach the mark. His helmet was askew, his jersey muddied and he had dirt in his mouth. But the ball hadn’t clattered the stumps. Assured that he had made the single, Ricky got up and removed his helmet to acknowledge the crowd. He didn’t curse, shout or point fingers at the press box. The smile plastered on his face was that of relieved happiness of realising the flaming talent in himself. This was unlike any of his 39 hundreds overall or 5 previous ones at SCG in an emotional sense. This was a different Ricky Ponting.

And it was wonderful to watch him get that hundred.

And local boy and Aussie skipper Michael ‘Pup’Clarke couldn’t have chosen a better script for himself. Hammering the first triple century at SCG in the 100^th Test being played here while leading his team to an innings victory. At this point does he even care that he played without a bat contract? Heck no. For he, taught quite a few lessons to India on how to play the game. He was cheeky and unselfish in his declaration of the Australian innings. The Indians had all but resigned to the fact that a 400 was about to be scored against them. But at the drinks in the second session of Day 3 , Clarke and Hussey walked past the drinks trolley and kept on walking .There was the declaration. He had caught the opposition off-guard !

But where Michael Clarke really gained respect from cricket fraternity was when he declared when he had Brian Lara’s 400 within reach. Yet, he declared as Hussey had reached 150. Why ? Well he thought he had enough of a lead and wanted to give his bowlers enough chance to bowl out India the second time. That India folded over in 3 ½ session is another matter , with Clarke notably scalping Sachin on 80. But he saw ahead in the match, anticipated better and then you can’t complain if luck favours such a captain, can you?

Remember, you can never discount a sudden spell of showers in Sydney. It clearly reflected his priorities- to win the match and not personal achievements and erasing landmarks. Very few people would do that, especially sub-continental players. The sub-continent is obsessed with numbers, who won’t let Sachin Tendulkar bat in peace by building the hype around a made-up term called ‘international centuries’.

It’s not a great time to criticise a team when it is in shambles. But this is a clear opportunity to set things in motions about the future. The team shows some resistance and stomach for a battle but its will is punctured against sustained aggression and skill. Gradually the problems have compounded. As Harsha Bhogle points out, it is unpardonable for this generation of players to be unathletic. VVS Laxman won’t ever run a three and bowlers have weak throwing arms. Players are not agile and don't dive. Do they worry that they will be forced to do the dirty laundry themselves? For India, this is a big problem as they have just one athletic guy in Virat Kohli in the team, and he prefers to show the finger to the crowd.

India has got a decent pace battery, but this decline in Tests was always coming. It is harking back to the times in the 90s when on overseas tours, India followed one collapse by another batting debacle soon after. The other teams have learned to play in India and its dustbowls and it won’t be long before India stops dominating at home and continues capitulating abroad. It would be worse than lions at home, lambs abroad. They would be hyenas at home, winning against the weakest while settling for scraps against better teams. Tests are won by teams that have a will to guts it out, not by teams whose spine is missing half a dozen vertebrae.

India and cricketing finance are directly related, but it seems only Australia and England care about the Tests. And once Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar leave, its assured that cricket following will take a massive hit. Its futile to talk about rebuilding this team, because that process should have started 4 years ago. They haven’t even found a replacement for Sourav Ganguly! Teams lose a lot when built up from scratch, however that would be part of a long term plan to have the best Test side and there is no shame in that .The pity is in maintaining status quo and being the ostrich , even when you lose 6 overseas test in a row and that too by thumping margins.

For a start, fire Duncan Fletcher and hire Stephen Fleming as soon as possible.

Simpoo Sir

Its amazing what good concepts and 2-D line animation can do. I am thinking The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy et al. They are the most telling social satires told in the most entertaining ways. Even Simon’s Cat by Simon Tofield is simple daily tunes of a lazy cat.

Some time in 2000 I think, Channel V in India came up with Simpoo Sir aka SS Sodhi series into their programming. It was mostly used as a filler .

Simpoo Sir, the Maths teacher who also had a thing for music and grooming popstars. Loving and idiosyncratic – that’s Simpoo Sir for you. Rustic and a very Chandigarh twang to his English and Hindi . So yes becomes yuzz, joke becomes zoke, Pankaj becomes Pankuzz or better still ask the Pankuzz.

Here’s the link to Channel V’s Simpoo Youtube channel . They should never have stopped making these.

The year that was

The rundown of the year gone by . The year that was. A look back at 2011. A-Z of the year. Starting alphabetically with Arab Spring ,Beatification of Pope John Paul II and so on.

Arab Spring. The revolutionary rumblings started in Tunisia and gradually to a substantial part of the Arab world which witnessed pro-democracy led rebellions. The unrest turned to protests in Algeria, Egypt, Syria, Libya and Bahrain. The youth in these countries revolted against oppressive autocratic regimes. Libya’s tyrannical Muammar Gaddaffi ended up dead and Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak had to quit office. The social media played a big role in the opinions being voiced but still the etching image remains of the self immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi.

Beatification of Pope John Paul II led him one step closer to being conferred sainthood. The five year wait before the beatification process begins was waived off for Pope John Paul II, who was the Pope for 27 years until his death in 2005.

Cricket World Cup in the subcontinent and termed ‘the cup that matters’ was won by co-hosts India after an excruciatingly long wait of 28 years that sent the nation into mass delirium and gave a generation of Indians to brag ‘ I was alive when we became world champs’. Read the illustrated short story of the ICC World Cup 2011 here.

Djoker as Novak Djokovic is fondly called,wound up an unbelievable run of 41-0 until he was beaten by Roger Federer at the Roland Garros semis. His unending reserves of energy, outstanding court coverage and willingness to go for broke on every other point fetched him 5 ATP titles and 3 Grand Slams – Australian Open, Wimbeldon and the US Open. His temerity at match points got a reaction by a not so amused Federer ‘You don’t play the kind of shots he played when facing match point. It’s ridiculous.’

Euro Crisis shows no sign of ebbing as the currency that came to effect at the turn of the millennium is facing unprecedented odds with economies of Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain staying on a wing and a prayer. Only Germany remains a stoic performer and with England distancing itself from the Euro, things are looking as bleak as a foggy winter sky.

Flying empty is an apt term for the plagued air carriers Air–India. Not only has India’s national carriers fortunes become progressively worse, its joined by the Kingfisher which shut down its LCC wing Kingfisher Red. And it’s an open secret that other airlines are also in the red and deep in crisis. The government is against a bailout and against FDI in aviations as well. From being the sunshine sector 5 years back, aviation is experiencing turbulent air.

Google + entered the social networking space. In 3 weeks Google + amassed a user base of more than 10 million people. With exciting features like circles and hangouts Google + drew immediate response from rival Facebook with their timeline launch. Google also rolled back failed products like Google Buzz while introducing new layouts to YouTube, Gmail and Blogger.

Higgs Boson particle remains the holy grail of modern science. The year long experiments at the CERN’s Large Hardon Collider (LHC) at the Franco-Swiss border has indicated that the scientists may have spotted hints of the Higgs Boson. It’s possibly been found. Its presence will confirm the Standard theory by filling its one gaping hole and if not, then we have yet not fully understood how the sub-atomic particles make up the universe.

Icon Steve Jobs dies. The creative force behind Apple died of pancreatic cancer shortly after resigning as CEO of Apple earlier in the year. His involvement in creating products i-pods, i–tunes, mac pros, i-phone, i-pad and the Pixar Animation studio has revolutionised the entertainment industry and effects millions of lives everyday . Worldwide tributes poured in for the man who made black turtleneck and denim cool.

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami on March 11 was of catastrophic scale and one of the 5 most powerful earthquakes in recorded history. The 9.0 scale has a domino effect of the tsunami that wrecked havoc at the nuclear power plants and escalated the disaster with radiation leaks at the Fukushima I Nuclear power plants.

Over 15,000 lives were lost due to the natural disaster. High intensity earthquakes measuring 7.1 in Van in Turkey, 6.3 in Christchurch in New Zealand and 6.9 in Sikkim in India also caused heavy damage to property and human lives in 2011.

Kolaveri Di became a viral sensation. Essentially a video of the studio recording of a Tanglish (Tamil +English) song with an immensely hummable tune and catchy lyrics which ran with subtitles, Kolaveri Di has been imbibed into the popular culture of India in a record quick time. The why of it is undecipherable and it should never be over-analysed for the song was written and composed in 20 minutes flat. The catchiest tune since Macarena, the sheer tomfoolery of the song is visible on the face of Dhanush as he records the song barely containing his infectious laughter.

Lokpal movement (ombudsman) in India gained momentum under the leadership of social worker Anna Hazare which literally brought the Central government to its knees. The anti-corruption movement led by this 74 year old man exposed the policy paralysis of the government that is increasingly showing signs of a rudderless ship and one which has long lost its moral right to govern.

Més que un club .Barcelona won the treble in Spain during 2010-11, before winning the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup already this season. They are looking favourites to retain their title in Europe and Spain. Barça’s style is fluid and beautiful as football is meant to be. And for the first time in their history they are wearing a sponsor’s name on their kits – that of Qatar Foundation.

News of the World, Britain’s leading tabloid which is known for its exposés, was formally shut down on July 7 amidst surfacing of allegations of corruption and phone hacking scandal. The Rupert Murdoch owned tabloid went out of circulation after 168 years of publishing on July 10 with the frontpage headline ‘ Thank you and goodbye’

Osama bin Laden was shot dead by the Navy Seal 6 team in Abottabad, Pakistan on May 1. The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on USA had been the most wanted man in the world since then and had eluded the allies for close to a decade before being killed in a firefight. He was given a sea burial. US President Barack Obama hailed this as the US’ most significant achievement against the Al- Qaeda .

Population of the world breached 7 billion in late October. It’s the quickest jump of a billion people into the world populace .The world had crossed 6 billion only in 1999. The largest city by population is Tokyo with 35 million and Asia is home to 4.5 billion of the 7 billion people in the world.

Quaint isolated blockade. Tucked away in far–east of India, Manipur saw a 121 day blockade of the National highways, NH 39 and NH 53 by warring tribes fighting over carving a new district. The state government was helpless and the Centre didn’t even find it an important issue to be dealt with .As essential supplies ran short, black marketeering become rampant and petrol was being sold at Rs.200 and LPG cylinder around Rs.2000. It is this kind of apathy that seeds the discontent towards the government of India. Meanwhile Irom Sharmila continues to fast.

Royal Wedding generated frenzied media coverage and an extended Easter holiday season in England. Duke of Cambridge Prince Williams married Kate Middleton on April 29 in a widely televised event.

South Sudan became an independent nation on July 9 as a result of the 2005 peace deal that ended Africa’ longest running civil war. The South Sudanese overwhelmingly voted to secede from Sudan in a January 2011 referendum. South Sudan has vast oil reserves as natural resource.

Terrorism still was a huge part of our daily lives. Mumbai, Moscow, Norway and many more. All are susceptible.On January 24 ,a suicide bomber blew himself at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport killing 35 and injuring 130 others . Frequent target Mumbai was attacked yet again in 3 co-ordinated bomb blasts at Opera House, Zaveri bazaar and Dadar in 10 minutes on July 13.

US troops withdrew from Iraq on Dec.15 after more than 8 years of the Gulf war that had cost close to 4,500 soldiers and thousands of Iraqis their lives. The war launched in March 2003 with the precedence to oust Saddam Hussein now seems so long ago. The cost of war is in billions notwithstanding the blood of innocents caught in the desert. Iraq is still grappling with uncertainty of its future.

Vettel became the youngest Formula 1 double world champion breaking Fernando Alonso’s record set at Renault during 2005-06. Sebestian Vettel also notched up the world record of maximum pole positions in a season with 15 poles, eclipsing Nigel Masell’s 14 enroute to a commanding 11 race wins in the season in his super quick Red Bull Renault car. Vettel won in Australia, Malaysia, Turkey, Spain, Monaco, Valencia, Belgium, Italy, Singapore, South Korea and India and dominated a grid that included 4 former World Champions. Annus mirabilis for the young German.

Winning . This buzzword will only make sense if you know Charlie Sheen. Haven’t you noticed a lot of #winning tweets this year ?

Young singers were having a great year whether they good or not. Some being Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Rebecca Black, Rihanna, Adele, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga. Take your pick .

Zuccotti Park - Occupy Wall Street protests. The Wall Street protests started out with the slogan – We are the 99 %. They protested against economic inequality, greed, undue influence of corporations, corruption and unemployment. A range of such movements in countries all over the world resulted in ‘the protester’ being named the person of the year by Time.

Coolest person this year

The coolest person this year according to TIME magazine is – Ryan Gosling. Such has been his popularity that there were protests by his fans outside People Magazine’s New York headquarters when they had snubbed Gosling and tagged Bradley Cooper as the sexiest man alive. Incidentally both are working on a film out next year -The Place Beyond the Pines. But Gosling is cool enough not to even bother about the title. And his dreamy charm is an instant female magnet which is undoubtedly the reason why he has been turned into an internet meme by fawning legion of fans.

The meme ‘Hey Girl’ spawns from the blog F__ Yeah, Ryan Gosling on Tumblr.There are scores of handsome Gosling snapshots with messages written with the Hey Girl theme. Another one being Ryan or a Puppy ? also on Tumblr. Sample some down here.

Gosling meanwhile is unassuming about it and is busy pleasing viewers with his stellar year at the movies. Closely followed by last year’s terrific Blue Valentine, he has his chiselled frame for display in Crazy Stupid Love, he is calculative and competitively amoral in The Ides of March and downright unpredictable in that scorpion jacket in Drive. Watch his charm over here in his appearance at Conan before the release of Drive and his why he thinks Disney has an undercover cat army – all in good humour .

The best line on him is a fake quote by Orson Welles from F____k Yeah, Ryan Gosling ;

The most awesomest, raddest, coolest dude since me - Orson Welles

Another Earth

Another Earth is the story of a young girl named Rhoda (Brit Marling) who had a promising career as an astrophysicist cut short because she kills a pregnant woman and her son in a terrible car-accident. Hence, instead of spending her next four years in MIT where she had got an admission, she is holed up in a prison sentenced for DUI.

By the film’s name, it would seem it is a sci-fi film. So where’s the science fiction part in all this? That would be the discovery of Earth Two. Director Mike Cahill has used simple electronic mediums like TV and radio to break events of sci-fi significance. The discovery of an exact duplicate of the earth is heard on an FM channel by Rhoda and intelligent life on it is shown in a beautiful scene when a US scientist finds herself talking to herself.

This immediately brings questions, as to whether there is another you on Earth Two ? Is the other earth the same as ours, with a version of you and me existing? Is your life being mirrored there? Have the choices that you have made in life congruent with your version on Earth Two? What would you do if you meet yourself?

The Earth Two, while physically being impossible is however used in the film as a metaphor - of that of a shot at redemption, a do over, another chance. The sci-fi part is but a window dressing for Rhoda who wants to redeem herself for what she did. She applies for being on the crew to a voyage to Earth Two, in a contest with poignant essay. It says,

“ When early explorers first set out across the west to cross the Atlantic, most people thought that the world was flat. Most people thought if you sailed far enough west, you would drop off the plane into nothing. These vessels sailing out into the unknown, they weren’t carrying noble men, or artists, aristocrats, merchants. They were crewed by people living on the edge of their life. Mad men, orphans, ex-convicts..outcasts like myself. As a felon, i am an unlikely candidate for most things, but perhaps not for this. Perhaps i am the most likely.”

With that sort of a reason, we know that she is bound to win, and that excites the possibility of a whole new, albeit same world.

But meanwhile, she builds an interaction with the man whose family she killed in accident- a college music professor and composer. That relationship is not overwrought with self-pity. She just falls short of letting her know who she is, as she sees him still struggling to get back his life on tracks again. So she lies her way into his life.

Another Earth has no elaborate CGI, being an indie sci-fi but it is a great piece of drama. That said, the another earth is always present in the backdrop, either as a blue dot or as the life sustaining water body in the sky; ever wonderous , increasingly teasing in its lure. The Earth Two shots have a minimalistic beauty about them. Mike Cahill is the cinematographer as well apart from being the co-writer with lead actress Brit Marling who radiates intelligence in her performance apart from being exceptionally photogenic and emotive as the troubled Rhoda Williams.

Another Earth refuses to play by the rules of the genre as it is seen towards the abrupt end of the film. It throws upon us delicious questions and interesting ideas to think about. Watch it , for there are memorable moments that stay with you and for the ending that will surely spark some debate.

Another Earth got a standing ovation and won the Alfred P.Sloan Prize at its Sundance Festival premier earlier this year and is out now on DVD. Hear the soundtrack 'First time I saw Jupiter' below

Written by – Mike Cahill , Brit Marling

Music – Fall on your sword, #Musical saw scene by Scott Munson

Runtime - 92 minutes

Days of December

Are you getting into Holiday spirits?

December is full of holidays and eventful memorial days - all month through .

December- the Friday of the months.

December 1 World AIDS Day

December 2 National Day of United Arab Emirates

December 3 World Conservation Day UNO

December 4 Navy Day India

December 5 Sinterklaas Netherlands

December 6 Islamic New year

December 7 Pearl Harbor Day US

December 8 Day of the Mary Immaculate Conception

December 10 Human Rights Day, Nobel Prize announcement

December 11 UNICEF Day

December 12 Day of Virgin of Guadalupe , Mexico

December 13 St.Lucy's Day

December 14 World Energy Day

December 15 Bill of Rights day US

December 16 Day of Reconciliation, South Africa

December 17 Wright Brothers Day

December 18 New Jersey Day , New Jersey

December 19 Liberation Day, Goa

December 20 Hanukkah (only this year)

December 21 First day of winter

December 22 Winter Solstice

December 23 Festivus

December 24 Christmas eve

December 25 Christmas

December 26 Boxing Day

December 27 The third day of Christmas

December 28 Proclamation Day, Australia

December 31 New Year’s eve