So you want to have a drink but you aren't sure why? Here are some GREAT reasons to call your friends over and have a party.

December 21st


- Christian Feast Day
- Divalia, in honour of Angerona, (Roman Empire)
- Earliest date for the winter solstice:
Earliest date for Yule in the northern hemisphere, and Midsummer in the southern hemisphere. (Neopagan Wheel of the Year)
- Sanghamitta Day
- Ziemassv?tki (ancient Latvia)
- Forefathers' Day (Plymouth, Massachusetts)

December 21st


- 1999 - The Spanish Civil Guard intercepts a van loaded with 950 kg of explosives that ETA intended to use to blow up Torre Picasso in Madrid.
- 1995 - The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.
- 1994 - Mexican volcano Popocatepetl, dormant for 47 years, erupts gases and ash.
- 1992 - A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport, killing 56 people.
- 1988 - A bomb explodes on board Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270.
- 1979 - Lancaster House Agreement: An independence agreement for Rhodesia is signed in London by Lord Carrington, Sir Ian Gilmour, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo, Bishop Abel Muzorewa and S.C. Mundawarara.
- 1973 - The Geneva Conference on the Arab-Israeli conflict opens.
- 1969 - The Gay Activists Alliance is formed in New York City.
- 1968 - Apollo program: Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew performs the first ever manned Trans Lunar Injection and become the first humans to leave Earth's gravity.
- 1967 - Louis Washkansky, the first man to undergo a heart transplant, dies in Cape Town, South Africa, after living for 18 days after the transplant.
- 1962 - Rondane National Park is established as Norway's first national park.
- 1941 - World War II: A formal treaty of alliance between Thailand and Japan is signed in the presence of the Emerald Buddha in Wat Phra Kaew.
- 1937 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated film, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theater.
- 1913 - Arthur Wynne's "word-cross", the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World.
- 1883 - The first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army are formed: The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment.
- 1872 - Challenger expedition: HMS Challenger, commanded by Captain George Nares, sails from Portsmouth.
- 1861 - Medal of Honor: Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, is signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln.
- 1844 - The Rochdale Pioneers commence business at their cooperative in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement.
- 1620 - Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
- 1598 - Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile.
- 1140 - Conrad III of Germany besieged Weinsberg.
- 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian becomes the fourth Emperor of Rome within a year.

December 21st


- 1989 - Tamannaah Bhatia, Indian actress
- 1989 - Mark Ingram Jr., American football player
- 1987 - Valerie Concepcion, Filipino actress
- 1987 - Brad Howard, Australian footballer
- 1985 - James Stewart Jr., American motorcycle racer
- 1984 - Darren Potter, Irish football player
- 1984 - Jackson Rathbone, American actor
- 1982 - Charlie Cox, English actor
- 1982 - Mike Gansey, American basketball player
- 1982 - Erica Hayden, American journalist and radio personality
- 1982 - Philip Humber, American baseball player
- 1982 - Iljo Keisse, Belgian cyclist
- 1982 - Tom Payne, British actor
- 1981 - Frankie Abernathy, American actress (d. 2007)
- 1981 - Sajid Mahmood, English cricketer
- 1981 - Lynda Thomas, Mexican singer
- 1981 - Cristian Zaccardo, Italian football player
- 1980 - Royce Ring, American baseball player
- 1979 - Tuva Novotny, Swedish actress and singer
- 1978 - Mike Vitar, American actor
- 1978 - Emiliano Brembilla, Italian swimmer
- 1977 - Toby Rand Lead Singer for Juke Kartel
- 1976 - Mirela Manjani, Greek javelin thrower
- 1976 - Lukas Rossi Lead Singer for Supernova
- 1975 - Paloma Herrera, Argentine ballet dancer
- 1974 - Karrie Webb, Australian golfer
- 1973 - Irakli Alasania,Georgian politician and diplomat
- 1973 - Karmen Stavec, German-born Slovenian singer
- 1973 - Mike Alstott, American football player
- 1972 - Gloria De Piero, English journalist
- 1972 - Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Indian politician
- 1972 - Claudia Poll, Costa Rican swimmer
- 1972 - Latroy Hawkins, American baseball player
- 1972 - Dustin Hermanson, American baseball player
- 1972 - Erwin Schrott, Uruguayan opera singer
- 1971 - Matthieu Chedid, French musician
- 1971 - Fenton Keogh, Australian celebrity chef
- 1971 - Brett Scallions, American singer (Fuel, The X's)
- 1969 - Julie Delpy, French actress
- 1969 - Jack Noseworthy, American actor
- 1969 - Mihails Zem?inskis, Latvian footballer
- 1967 - Ervin Johnson, American basketball player
- 1967 - Terry Mills, American basketball player
- 1967 - Mikhail Saakashvili, Soviet-born President of Georgia
- 1967 - Fritz Karl, Austrian actor
- 1966 - Kiefer Sutherland, British-born Canadian actor
- 1966 - Adam Schefter, American sports journalist
- 1966 - Karri Turner, American actress
- 1965 - Andy Dick, American actor and comedian
- 1965 - Stuart Mitchell, Scottish Composer
- 1965 - Anke Engelke, German comedian
- 1964 - Rob Kelly, English football manager
- 1964 - Fabiana Udenio, Argentine actress
- 1963 - Govinda Ahuja, Indian actor and politician
- 1961 - Francis Ng, Hong Kong actor
- 1961 - Ryuji Sasai, Japanese video game composer
- 1960 - Louis Demetrius Alvanis, London-based pianist
- 1960 - Roger McDowell, American baseball player
- 1960 - Andy Van Slyke, American baseball player
- 1959 - Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter (d. 1998)
- 1957 - Tom Henke, American baseball player
- 1957 - Ray Romano, Italian-American comedian
- 1955 - Jane Kaczmarek, American actress
- 1955 - Kazuyuki Sekiguchi, Japanese musician
- 1954 - Chris Evert, American tennis player
- 1953 - Betty Wright, American singer
- 1952 - Joaquín Andújar, Dominican baseball player
- 1951 - Nick Gilder, English musician (Sweeney Todd)
- 1950 - Jeffrey Katzenberg, American film producer
- 1950 - Lillebjørn Nilsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter
- 1949 - Nikolaos Sifounakis, Greek politician
- 1949 - Thomas Sankara, President of Burkina Faso (d. 1987)
- 1948 - Samuel L. Jackson, American actor
- 1948 - Dave Kingman, American baseball player
- 1948 - Willi Resetarits, Austrian musician
- 1947 - Bryan Hamilton, Northern Irish footballer
- 1947 - Paco de Lucía, Spanish musician
- 1946 - Christopher Keene, American conductor (d. 1995)
- 1946 - Carl Wilson, American musician (The Beach Boys) (d. 1998)
- 1944 - Zheng Xiaoyu, Chinese bureaucrat (d. 2007)
- 1944 - Bill Atkinson, English footballer
- 1944 - Michael Tilson Thomas, American conductor
- 1943 - André Arthur. Quebec radio host
- 1943 - Albert Lee, English guitarist
- 1942 - Hu Jintao, Chinese president
- 1942 - Reinhard Mey, German singer
- 1942 - Carla Thomas, American singer
- 1940 - Frank Zappa, American musician (d. 1993)
- 1940 - Ray Hildebrand, American singer (Paul & Paula)
- 1939 - Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian politician
- 1938 - Frank Moorhouse, Australian author
- 1937 - Jane Fonda, American actress
- 1937 - Donald F. Munson, American politician
- 1935 - John G. Avildsen, American film director
- 1935 - Lorenzo Bandini, Italian racecar driver (d. 1967)
- 1935 - Yusuf Bey (Joseph Stephens), American activist (d. 2003)
- 1935 - Phil Donahue, American talk show host
- 1935 - Edward Schreyer, Canadian politician, Premier of Manitoba
- 1932 - Edward Hoagland, American essayist
- 1926 - Joe Paterno, American football coach
- 1923 - Intizar Hussain, Urdu writer and columnist of Pakistan
- 1922 - Paul Winchell, American ventriloquist (d. 2005)
- 1922 - Itubwa Amram, Nauruan pastor and politician (d. 1989)
- 1921 - Maila Nurmi, Finnish-born American actress (d. 2008)
- 1921 - John Severin, American comics artist
- 1920 - Alicia Alonso, Cuban ballerina
- 1920 - Bob Bindig, American cartoonist (d. 2006)
- 1920 - Jean Gascon, Canadian actor (d. 1988)
- 1918 - Donald Regan, American 66th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 2003)
- 1918 - Kurt Waldheim, Austrian United Nations Secretary-General and Federal President of Austria (d. 2007)
- 1917 - Heinrich Böll, German writer and Nobel laureate (d. 1985)
- 1917 - Sophie Masloff, American politician
- 1915 - Werner von Trapp, member of the Trapp Family Singers (d. 2007)
- 1914 - Ivan Generali?, Austro-Hungarian-born Croatian painter (d. 1992)
- 1913 - Arnold Friberg, American illustrator (d. 2010)
- 1911 - Josh Gibson, American baseball player (d. 1947)
- 1909 - Seicho Matsumoto, Japanese mystery writer and journalist (d. 1992)
- 1905 - Anthony Powell, British author (d. 2000)
- 1896 - Leroy Robertson, American composer (d. 1971)
- 1892 - Amy Key Clarke, English mystical poet (d. 1980)
- 1892 - Walter Hagen, American golfer (d. 1969)
- 1892 - Rebecca West, British writer (d. 1983)
- 1891 - John William McCormack, American politician (d. 1980)
- 1890 - Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and Nobel laureate (d. 1967)
- 1889 - Sewall Wright, American biologist (d. 1988)
- 1885 - Frank Patrick, Canadian hockey player (d. 1960)
- 1878 - Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee (d. 1953)
- 1878 - Jan ?ukasiewicz, Polish philosopher and mathematician (d. 1956)
- 1876 - Jack Lang (John Thomas Lang), Premier of New South Wales (d. 1975)
- 1873 - Blagoje Bersa, Croatian composer (d. 1934)
- 1872 - Sidney Ainsworth, British actor (d. 1922)
- 1872 - Don Lorenzo Perosi, Italian composer (d. 1956)
- 1872 - Albert Payson Terhune, American author (d. 1942)
- 1859 - Gustave Kahn, French poet (d. 1936)
- 1851 - Thomas Chipman McRae, American politician (d. 1929)
- 1850 - Zden?k Fibich, Bohemian composer (d. 1900)
- 1850 - William Wallace Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1862)
- 1843 - Thomas Bracken, Irish-born New Zealand poet (d. 1898)
- 1840 - Nam?k Kemal, Turkish nationalist poet (d. 1888)
- 1832 - John H. Ketcham, American politician (d. 1906)
- 1818 - Amalia of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece (d. 1875)
- 1815 - Thomas Couture French painter and teacher (d. 1879)
- 1811 - Archibald Campbell Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1882)
- 1805 - Thomas Graham, British chemist (d. 1869)
- 1804 - Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1881)
- 1795 - Leopold von Ranke, German historian (d. 1886)
- 1795 - John "Jack" Russell, English parson, hunter and dog breeder (d. 1883)
- 1778 - Anders Sandøe Ørsted, Danish politician (d. 1860)
- 1714 - John Bradstreet, Canadian-born soldier (d. 1774)
- 1682 - Calico Jack Rackham, English pirate (d. 1720)
- 1603 - Roger Williams, English theologian and colonist (d. 1684)
- 1596 - Petro Mohyla, Moldovan Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Kiev and Galicia (d. 1646)
- 1401 - Tommaso Masaccio, Italian painter (d. 1428)
- 1118 - Thomas Becket, Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1170)