December 1st : Themes for celebration and contemplation
As December gets underway, we all know that we are now in the countdown to Christmas, otherwise known as Advent. This will probably mean a daily chocolate treat as we feel our excitement and anticipation for Christmas Day growing.
If you are looking for some themes and points of interest to add to your advent countdown, the Bulldogz Christmas spirit is in full flow and we can provide you with some of the fun, serious and little known points of celebration for each day on this magical countdown.
The 2022 Christmas Film World Cup is underway with voting in the group stage starting today. All the details and downloadable wall chart available here. Or vote now:
December 1
Antarctica Day
Inaugurated in 2010 to celebrate the signing of the Antarctic treaty on December 1st 1959 for "the interests of science and progress of all mankind". This celebration was initiated by the Foundation for Good Governance of International Spaces as an annual event to build global awareness of this effort for peace and hope for the future.
The British Antarctic Survey have a collection of teaching resources on Antarctic and the Antarctic treaty here
Clark Kent's Birthday
If you want to launch a nerd argument this is a perfect point of contention. December the 1st is stated as Clark Kent's birthday in Superman: Secret Origins (2009) but it seems the Man of Steel has multiple birthdays to choose, as listed and discussed at great length in this DC Multiverse article.
Rosa Parks Day
Rosa Parks is the American civil rights activist who famously refused to move to the back of the bus on December 1 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama. In California and Missouri the holiday to honour her is on her birthday February 4th. In Ohio and Oregon it is celebrated on the day of her arrest, December 1st.
The BBC have a lesson and teaching resources here
World Aids Day
World Aids Day was founded in 1988, the first global health day of awareness. People can wear the red ribbon to show support and events take place on a local level world wide.
The American Centre for Disease Control and Prevention have a resource toolkit page here.
December 1 in history
Events
1640 – End of the Iberian Union: Portugal acclaims as King João IV of Portugal, ending 59 years of personal union of the crowns of Portugal and Spain and the end of the rule of the Philippine Dynasty.
1919 – Lady Astor becomes the first female Member of Parliament (MP) to take her seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. (She had been elected to that position on November 28.)
1955 – American Civil Rights Movement: In Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man and is arrested for violating the city's racial segregation laws, an incident which leads to that city's bus boycott.
1988 – World AIDS Day is proclaimed worldwide by the UN member states.
Births
1761 – Marie Tussaud, French-English sculptor, founded Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (d.1850)
1912 – Minoru Yamasaki, American architect, designed the World Trade Centre (d. 1986)
1935 – Woody Allen, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1940 – Richard Pryor, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
1949 – Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist (d. 1993)
Deaths
1135 – Henry I, king of England (b. 1068)
1973 – David Ben-Gurion, Israeli politician, 1st Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1886)
Christmas Films
Nicholas Cage is a fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife.
The fourth seed in Group H, a heart warming family tale that suffers from not being as well known as some of the Christmas heavyweights.
A father and son who team up to save Christmas once they discover Santa Claus sleeping in their garage after crashing his sleigh and finding himself on the run from the police
Fourth Seed in Group G, a little known British effort with Jim Broadbent in fine form as Saint Nic.
Christmas Music
Frankie Goes to Hollywood power ballad "The Power of Love" is the first of our Christmas Song World Cup participants to be featured in our Christmas countdown. Listen and watch the official music video while you track the progress of the tune in Christmas song world cup history and discover some trivia on the song homepage here