January 1, 2012

New Year's Day

Feast of the Circumcision of Christ  (Eastern Orthodox Christianity)

Feast of Mary, Mother of God  (Roman Catholic)

Eighth Day of Christmas  (Christianity)

Global Family Day

Feast of Saint Basil the Great  (Eastern Orthodox Christianity)

Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus  (Lutheran)

World Day of Peace  (Roman Catholic)

Constitution Day in Italy  (1948)

Day of the Establishment of the Slovak Republic [Slovakia] (1993)

Restoration Day of the Independent Czech State [Czech Republic]  (1993)

Founding Day in the Republic of China {Taiwan}  (1912)

Independence Day in Haiti  (1804)

Independence Day in Sudan {Republic of the Sudan/North Sudan}  (1956)

Independence Day in Brunei  (1984)

National Tree Planting Day in Tanzania

Public Domain Day

last day of Kwanzaa  (USA/African-American)

ROYAL BIRTHDAYS

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar   {1952}

Laura Lopes   {1978} [daughter of the Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla) (wife of The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales {son of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain + Northern Ireland})]

Princess Maria Chiara of Bourbon-Two Sicilies   {2005} (daughter of Prince Carlo/Charles of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro)

(pictured on the lower right, in a pink dress, to the right of her mother, Princess Camilla of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Castro, and also directly in front of Princess Caroline of Monaco, in blue)




HISTORICAL ROYAL EVENTS

69   The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Emperor Galba of the Roman Empire.  They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.

193   The Senate chooses Pertinax against his will to succeed Commodus as Roman emperor.

414   Galla Placidia, half-sister of Emperor Honorius of the Western Roman Empire, is married to King Ataulf of the Visigoths at Narbonne, Gaul [in modern-day southern France].  The wedding is celebrated with Roman festivities and magnificent gifts from the Gothic beauty.

417   Emperor Honorius forces his half-sister, Galla Placidia, into marriage with Constantius, his famous general [and future Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, as Constatius III].

1001   Grand Prince Stephen/Istvan I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II.

1259   Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris.

1438   Duke Albert of Austria is crowned King of Hungary.

1515   King Francis/Francois I of France succeeds to the French throne.

1527   Croatian nobles elect King Ferdinand I of Bohemia + Hungary, Archduke of Austria, as king of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin.

1651   Charles II is crowned King of Scotland.

1707   Joao V is crowned King of Portugal + the Algarves.

1801   The legislative union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland is completed to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

1803   Emperor Gia Long of Vietnam orders all bronze wares of the Tay Son Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Hue, Vietnam.

1877   Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain + Ireland is proclaimed Empress of India.

1980   A parliamentary change to the Act of Succession which introduces equal primogeniture in Sweden formally goes into effect, giving Princess Victoria of Sweden first place in the succession to the throne, ahead of her younger brother, and designates her as Crown Princess.

HISTORICAL ROYAL BIRTHS

871   King Zwentibold of Lotharingia (d.900)

1431   Pope Alexander VI (d.1503)

1467   King Sigismund/ZygmuntZygimantas I "the Old" of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Duke of Silesia (d.1458)

1511   Prince Henry of England, Duke of Cornwall (d. Feb. 23, 1511) (son of King Henry VIII & Queen consort Catherine of England)

1516   Queen consort Margaret/Margareta of Sweden (d.1551)

1557   Prince Istvan/Stephen Bocskay/Bocskai of Transylvania (d.1606)

1638   Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (d.1685)

1881   King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) of Siam [Thailand] (d.1925)

DEATHS

898   King Odo/Eudes of Western Francia, Duke of France, Count of Paris

962   Baldwin III "the Young", Count of Flanders

1204   King Haakon/Hakon III of Norway

1387   King Charles II "the Bad" of Navarre, Count of Evreux

1515   King Louis XII of France, "The Father of the People"

1559   King Christian III of Denmark + Norway

1766   Prince James Francis Edward Stuart "the Old Pretender/the Old Chevalier", Prince of Wales + Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince + Great Steward of Scotland