December 20

O Antiphons  (Roman Catholic)

Las Posadas  (Roman Catholic; Mexico, Latin America, Southwestern USA)

Hanukkah begins at sundown  (Judaism)

International Human Solidarity Day

ROYAL BIRTHDAYS

Queen Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck of Bhutan   {1955} (one of the wives of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan & step-mother/aunt of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan)

Queen Tshering Pem Wangchuck of Bhutan   {1957} (one of the wives of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan & step-mother/aunt of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan)

Infanta Elena of Spain, Duchess of Lugo   {1963} (daughter of King Juan Carlos I of Spain)

HISTORICAL ROYAL EVENTS

69   Vespasian, formerly a general under Roman Emperor Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of emperor.

217   Upon his death the papacy of Pope Saint Zephyrinus ends.  Callixtus I is elected as the sixteenth pope, but is opposed by the theologian Hippolytus who accuses him of laxity and being a Modalist (one who denies  any distinction between the three persons of the Trinity).

1192   King Richard I "the Lion Heart" of England is captured and imprisoned by Duke Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after signing a treaty with Sultan Saladin of Egypt + Syria ending the Third crusade.

1522   Siege of Rhodes:  Sultan Suleiman I "the Magnificent/the Lawgiver" of the Ottoman Empire accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate.  They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.

2007   Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain + Northern Ireland becomes the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months, & 29 days.


HISTORICAL ROYAL BIRTHS

1537   King Johan III of Sweden, Grand Prince of Finland (d.1592)

1902   Prince George, Duke of Kent, Earl of Saint Andrews, Baron Downpatrick (d.1942)

DEATHS

217   Pope Saint Zephyrinus

860   King Ethelbald [AEthelbald] of Wessex

910   King Alfonso III "the Great" of Leon, Galicia, + Asturias, Emperor of Spain, Prince of All Galicia

1022   Queen consort Elvira of Leon

1355   Stefan/Stephen Uros IV Dusan "the Mighty", King of Serbia, Emperor of Serbs + Greeks

1722   Emperor Kangxi of Qing China

1765   Prince Louis of France, Dauphin of France (son of King Louis XV of France; father of King Louis XVI of France, King Louis XVIII of France, & King Charles X of France)