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 24th


- Christian Feast Day
- Christmas Eve
Aðfangadagskvöld, the day when the 13th and the last Yule Lad arrives to towns. (Iceland)
- Feast of the Seven Fishes (Italy)
- Jul (Denmark)
- Nochebuena (Spain and Spanish-speaking countries)
- The day when presents are exchanged and opened. Presents are delivered to children by Santa Claus, personified by an adult dressed up as Santa who comes knocking on the door. (Austria, Colombia Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and the Dominican Republic)
- The Declaration of Christmas Peace (Old Great Square of Turku, Finland's official Christmas City)

December 24th


- 2003 - The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid's busy Chamartín Station.
- 2000 - The Texas 7 hold up a sports store in Irving, Texas. Police officer Aubrey Hawkins is murdered during the robbery.
- 1997 - The Sid El-Antri massacre (or Sidi Lamri) in Algeria kills 50-100 people.
- 1997 - The Dominican Republic becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
- 1979 - The first European Ariane rocket is launched.
- 1974 - Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia.
- 1973 - District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government.
- 1968 - The crew of the USS Pueblo is released by North Korea after being held for 11 months on suspicion of spying.
- 1968 - Apollo Program: The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed 10 lunar orbits and broadcast live TV pictures that became the famous Christmas Eve Broadcast, one of the most watched programs in history.
- 1966 - A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam, killing 129.
- 1955 - NORAD Tracks Santa for the first time in what will become an annual Christmas Eve tradition.
- 1953 - Tangiwai disaster: A railway bridge is destroyed by a lahar at Tangiwai, in the Central North Island of New Zealand, sending a fully loaded passenger train into the Whangaehu River, and killing 153 people.
- 1951 - Libya becomes independent from Italy. Idris I is proclaimed King of Libya.
- 1946 - France's Fourth Republic is founded.
- 1943 - World War II: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the Supreme Allied Commander.
- 1942 - World War II: French monarchist, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, assassinates Vichy French Admiral François Darlan in Algiers.
- 1941 - World War II: Hong Kong falls to the Japanese Imperial Army.
- 1941 - World War II: Kuching is conquered by Japanese forces.
- 1939 - World War II: Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace.
- 1929 - Assassination attempt on Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen.
- 1924 - Albania becomes a republic.
- 1914 - World War I: The "Christmas truce" begins.
- 1906 - Radio: Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.
- 1865 - Several U.S. Civil War Confederate veterans form the Ku Klux Klan.
- 1851 - Library of Congress burns.
- 1826 - The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy begins that night, wrapping up the following morning.
- 1814 - The Treaty of Ghent is signed ending the War of 1812.
- 1777 - Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is discovered by James Cook.
- 1294 - Pope Boniface VIII is elected Pope, replacing St. Celestine V, who had resigned.
- 563 - The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the second time after being destroyed by earthquakes.

December 24th


- 2000 - Ethan Bortnick, child musician
- 1992 - Melissa Suffield, English actress
- 1987 - Jane Summersett, American ice dancer
- 1986 - Riyo Mori, Miss Universe 2007 from Japan
- 1986 - Kyrylo Fesenko, Ukrainian basketball player
- 1985 - Alexey Dmitriev, German ice hockey player
- 1985 - David Ragan, American race car driver
- 1983 - Ansver Oksman, Finnish visual artist
- 1982 - Aiba Masaki, Japanese singer and actor
- 1982 - Robert Carmine, American singer
- 1981 - Shane Tuck, Australian rules footballer
- 1981 - Dima Bilan, Karachay-Russian pop artist
- 1980 - Tomas Kalnoky, American musician (Streetlight Manifesto)
- 1979 - Chris Hero, American professional wrestler
- 1978 - Y?ld?ray Ba?türk, Turkish footballer
- 1978 - Carlson Twins, Kyle and Lane Carlson, American fashion models
- 1978 - Warren Tredrea, Australian rules footballer
- 1978 - Tonedeff, American rapper
- 1976 - Yuri Korean singer
- 1974 - Marcelo Salas, Chilean footballer
- 1974 - Ryan Seacrest, American television host
- 1973 - Eddie Pope, American soccer player
- 1973 - Stephenie Meyer, American author (Twilight)
- 1972 - Alvaro Mesen, Costa Rican footballer
- 1972 - Klaus Schnellenkamp, German-Chilean author
- 1971 - Giorgos Alkaios, Greek singer
- 1971 - Christopher Daniels, American professional wrestler
- 1971 - Sascha Fischer, German rugby player
- 1971 - Ricky Martin, Puerto Rican singer
- 1971 - Oro, Mexican professional wrestler (d. 1993)
- 1970 - Amaury Nolasco, American actor
- 1970 - Will Oldham, American singer and songwriter
- 1969 - Brad Anderson, American professional wrestler
- 1969 - Mark Millar, Scottish comic book writer
- 1969 - Sean Michael, South African actor
- 1968 - Choi Jin-sil, South Korean actress and model (d. 2008)
- 1968 - Doyle Bramhall II, American guitarist
- 1968 - Marleen Renders, Belgian athlete
- 1967 - Mikhail Shchennikov, Russian race walker
- 1966 - Diedrich Bader, American actor
- 1965 - Millard Powers, American musician, songwriter, record producer, grammy nominated recording engineer, and member of Counting Crows.
- 1964 - Mark Valley, American actor
- 1963 - Jay Bilas, American basketball analyst
- 1963 - Mary Ramsey, American singer (10,000 Maniacs)
- 1963 - Caroline Aherne, British comedienne, writer and actress
- 1961 - Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan
- 1961 - Jay Wright, American basketball coach
- 1960 - Glenn McQueen, American animator (d. 2002)
- 1960 - Carol Vorderman, British television presenter
- 1959 - Keith Deller, British darts player
- 1959 - Anil Kapoor, Indian actor
- 1958 - Munetaka Higuchi, Japanese drummer (d. 2008)
- 1958 - Paul Pressey, American basketball player
- 1957 - Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan
- 1957 - Diane Tell, Quebec singer
- 1955 - Grand L. Bush, American actor
- 1955 - Clarence Gilyard, American actor
- 1954 - José María Figueres, Costa Rican politician
- 1953 - François Loos, French politician
- 1952 - Christopher Buckley, American author and political commentator
- 1951 - John D'Acquisto, baseball player
- 1950 - Dana Gioia, American poet
- 1949 - Randy Neugebauer, American politician
- 1949 - Warwick Brown, Australian racing driver
- 1948 - Frank Oliver, New Zealand rugby player
- 1947 - Kevin Sheedy, coach of Australian Football League club Essendon FC
- 1946 - Brenda Howard, American bisexual activist (d. 2005)
- 1946 - Jeff Sessions, American politician
- 1945 - Lemmy, British singer, bassist (Motörhead)
- 1945 - Nicholas Meyer, American author
- 1945 - Steve Smith, Canadian Comedian, The New Red Green Show, Duct Tape Forever
- 1944 - Daniel Johnson, Jr., Quebec politician, Premier of Quebec
- 1944 - Mike Curb, American musician, record company executive and politician
- 1944 - Oswald Gracias, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bombay
- 1944 - Barry Chuckle, British comedian
- 1943 - Tarja Halonen, President of Finland
- 1941 - John Levene, British actor
- 1938 - Bobby Henrich, American baseball player
- 1938 - Valentim Loureiro, Portuguese politician, and former football chairman of Boavista F.C. and Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional
- 1937 - Félix Miéli Venerando, Brazilian football player
- 1934 - Stjepan Mesi?, president of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement and president of Croatia
- 1932 - On Kawara, Japanese conceptual artist
- 1931 - Mauricio Kagel, Argentine composer (d. 2008)
- 1931 - Ray Bryant, American jazz pianist and composer
- 1927 - Mary Higgins Clark, American author
- 1926 - Paul Buissonneau, French-born Quebec theatre director
- 1924 - Lee Dorsey, American singer (d. 1986)
- 1924 - Grigory Kriss, Russian Olympic champion fencer
- 1924 - Mohammed Rafi, Indian actor and playback singer (d. 1980)
- 1923 - George Patton IV, American general (d. 2004)
- 1923 - Michael DiBiase, American wrestler (d. 1969)
- 1922 - Ava Gardner, American actress (d. 1990)
- 1920 - Yevgeniya Rudneva, Russian World War II heroine (d. 1944)
- 1914 - Ralph Marterie, American trumpet player and big band leader (d. 1978)
- 1914 - Herbert Reinecker, German writer (d. 2007)
- 1910 - Fritz Leiber, American writer (d. 1992)
- 1910 - Max Miedinger, typeface designer, famous for creating Helvetica in 1957. (d. 1980)
- 1907 - I. F. Stone, American journalist (d. 1989)
- 1906 - Franz Waxman, German film composer (d. 1967)
- 1905 - Howard Hughes, American film producer and inventor (d. 1976)
- 1904 - Joseph Moses Juran, American industrial engineer and philanthropist (d. 2008)
- 1900 - Joey Smallwood, Canadian politician, Premier of Newfoundland (d. 1991)
- 1898 - Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1967)
- 1898 - Baby Dodds, American jazz drummer (d. 1959)
- 1896 - Jens Oliver Lisberg, Faroese law student, designer of the Flag of the Faroe Islands (d. 1920)
- 1895 - E. Roland Harriman, American financier (d. 1978)
- 1894 - Georges Guynemer, French aviator (d. 1917)
- 1893 - Harry Warren, American composer and lyricist (Chattanooga Choo Choo – I Only Have Eyes for You) (d. 1981)
- 1893 - Ruth Chatterton, American actress (d. 1961)
- 1887 - Louis Jouvet, French actor and producer (d. 1951)
- 1886 - Michael Curtiz, Hungarian-born director (d. 1962)
- 1881 - Juan Ramón Jiménez, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- 1880 - Johnny Gruelle, American cartoonist, children's book writer and creator of Raggedy Ann (d. 1939)
- 1879 - Queen Alexandrine of Denmark, Queen Consort to Christian X (d. 1952)
- 1879 - Émile Nelligan, Quebec poet (d. 1941)
- 1868 - Emanuel Lasker, German chess player (d. 1941)
- 1867 - Kantar? Suzuki, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)
- 1845 - King George I of Greece (d. 1913)
- 1843 - Lydia Koidula, Estonian poet (d. 1886)
- 1837 - Elisabeth of Bavaria, also known as Sissi, Empress of Austria (d. 1898)
- 1822 - Matthew Arnold, British poet (d. 1888)
- 1818 - James Prescott Joule, British physicist (d. 1889)
- 1812 - Karl Eduard Zachariae von Lingenthal, German jurist (d. 1894)
- 1810 - Wilhelm Marstrand, Danish painter (d. 1873)
- 1809 - Kit Carson, American frontiersman (d. 1868)
- 1798 - Adam Mickiewicz, Polish poet (d. 1855)
- 1784 - Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1803)
- 1761 - Jean-Louis Pons, French astronomer (d. 1831)
- 1754 - George Crabbe, British poet and naturalist (d. 1832)
- 1745 - Benjamin Rush, doctor and Founding Father of the United States (d. 1813)
- 1724 - Johann Conrad Ammann, Swiss physician and naturalist (d. 1811)
- 1698 - William Warburton, English Bishop of Gloucester (d. 1779)
- 1635 - Mariana of Austria, second wife of king Philip IV of Spain (d. 1696)
- 1609 - Philip Warwick, English writer and politician (d. 1683)
- 1588 - Constance of Austria, queen of Poland (d. 1631)
- 1508 - Pietro Carnesecchi, Italian humanist (d. 1567)
- 1475 - Thomas Murner, German writer (d. c. 1537)
- 1389 - John VI, Duke of Brittany (d. 1442)
- 1166 - King John of England (d. 1216)
- -3 - Servius Sulpicius Galba, Roman Emperor (d. 69)