Calendar date · December

What happened on December 25

On December 25, 36: Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China.

Events

69

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Capricorn

Featured moment · 36

Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China.

AD 36 (XXXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Allenius and Plautius. The denomination AD 36 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

People

Born on December 25

Wilfried Singo 2000– Ivorian footballer (born 2000)
Adut Akech 1999– South Sudanese-Australian model (born 1999)
Emiliano Buendía 1996– Argentine footballer (born 1996)
Emi Takei 1993– Japanese actress and model
Mitakeumi Hisashi 1992– Japanese professional sumo wrestler
Avu-chan 1991– Musical artist
Eric Gordon 1988– American-Bahamian basketball player (born 1988)
Lukas Hinds-Johnson 1988– German rugby union player
Joãozinho 1988– Brazilian-Russian footballer
Show 9 more — notable births on December 25
Ceyhun Gülselam 1987– Turkish footballer (born 1987)
Demaryius Thomas 1987– American football player (1987–2021)
Martin Mathathi 1985– Kenyan long-distance runner (born 1985)
Rusev 1985– Bulgarian-American professional wrestler (born 1985)
Yulia Svyrydenko 1985– Prime Minister of Ukraine since 2025
Chris Cahill 1984– Australian-Samoan footballer
Alastair Cook 1984– English cricketer (born 1984)
Chris Richard 1984– American basketball player (born 1984)
Shawn Andrews 1982– American football player (born 1982)

People

Died on December 25

Britt Allcroft British filmmaker (1943–2024)
Bill Bergey American football player (1945–2024)
Jax Dane American professional wrestler (1981–2024)
M. T. Vasudevan Nair Indian author, screenplay writer and film director (1933–2024)
Osamu Suzuki Japanese businessman (1930–2024)
Jim Breaks British professional wrestler (1940–2023)
Fabián O'Neill Uruguayan footballer (1973–2022)
Wayne Thiebaud American painter (1920–2021)
K. C. Jones American basketball player and coach (1932–2020)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on December 25
Ari Behn Norwegian author (1972–2019)
Sulagitti Narasamma Indian midwife (1920–2018)
D. Herbert Lipson American magazine publisher
Valery Khalilov Uzbek-Russian military band conductor and composer (1952–2016)
George Michael English singer-songwriter (1963–2016)
Vera Rubin American astronomer (1928–2016)
George Clayton Johnson American writer (1929–2015)
Dorothy M. Murdock American Christ myth theorist (1960–2015)
Ricardo Porro Cuban architect (1925 - 2014)

Timeline

Every December 25 on record

  1. 36 Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China.

    Calendar year

    AD 36 (XXXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Allenius and Plautius. The denomination AD 36 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

  2. 274 A temple to Sol Invictus is dedicated in Rome by Emperor Aurelian.

    Roman temple in the Campus Agrippae dedicated in 274

    The Temple of the Sun was a temple in the Campus Agrippae in Rome. It was dedicated to Sol Invictus on 25 December 274 by the emperor Aurelian to fulfill a vow he made following his successful campaign against Palmyra in 272 and funded by spoils from that campaign. A college of pontifices (Dei) Solis and annual games with circus races was established for the cult, as well as four-year games to be held at the end of the Saturnalia.

  3. 333 Roman Emperor Constantine the Great elevates his youngest son Constans to the rank of Caesar.

    Roman emperor from 306 to 337

    Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a pivotal role in elevating the status of Christianity in Rome, the Edict of Milan decriminalising Christian practice and ceasing Christian persecution. This was a turning point in the Christianisation of the Roman Empire.

  4. 336 First documented sign of Christmas celebration in Rome.

    Christian holiday usually on December 25

    Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Christmas preparation begins on the First Sunday of Advent. Advent is followed by Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night.

  5. 350 Vetranio meets Constantius II at Naissus (Serbia) and is forced to abdicate his imperial title. Constantius allows him to live as a private citizen on a state pension.

    Roman emperor in 350

    Vetranio was briefly an imperial usurper and emperor in the Roman Empire in 350, during which time he controlled Illyricum between the rival emperors Magnus Magnentius and Constantius II, eventually capitulating to the latter.

  6. 508 Clovis I, king of the Franks, is baptized into the Catholic faith at Reims, by Saint Remigius.
  7. 597 Augustine of Canterbury and his fellow-labourers baptise in Kent more than 10,000 Anglo-Saxons.
  8. 800 The coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.
  9. 820 Eastern Emperor Leo V is murdered in a church of the Great Palace of Constantinople by followers of Michael II.
  10. 1000 The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary.
  11. 1013 Sweyn Forkbeard takes control of the Danelaw and is proclaimed king of England.
  12. 1025 Coronation of Mieszko II Lambert as king of Poland.
  13. 1046 Henry III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement II.
  14. 1066 William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.
  15. 1076 Coronation of Bolesław II the Generous as king of Poland.
Show 15 earlier entries from December 25
  1. 1100 Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
  2. 1130 Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first king of Sicily.
  3. 1261 Eleven-year-old John IV Laskaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaiologos.
  4. 1356 Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, promulgates the Golden Bull, a constitution for his empire.
  5. 1492 The carrack Santa María, commanded by Christopher Columbus, runs onto a reef off Haiti due to an improper watch.
  6. 1553 Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors and executes the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia.
  7. 1559 Pope Pius IV is elected, four months after his predecessor's death.
  8. 1724 J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BWV 91, in Leipzig, based on Luther's 1524 Christmas hymn.
  9. 1725 J. S. Bach leads the first performance of the Christmas cantata Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110, making laughter audible in singing.
  10. 1758 Halley's Comet is sighted by Johann Georg Palitzsch, confirming Edmund Halley's prediction of its passage. This was the first passage of a comet predicted ahead of time.
  11. 1766 Mapuches in Chile launch a series of surprise attacks against the Spanish starting the Mapuche uprising of 1766.
  12. 1776 American Revolutionary War: General George Washington and the Continental Army cross the Delaware River at night to attack Hessian forces serving Great Britain at Trenton, New Jersey, the next day.
  13. 1793 Northwest Indian War: General "Mad Anthony" Wayne and a 300 man detachment identify the site of St. Clair's 1791 defeat by the large number of unburied human remains at modern Fort Recovery, Ohio.
  14. 1809 Dr. Ephraim McDowell performs the first ovariotomy, removing a 22-pound tumor.
  15. 1814 Rev. Samuel Marsden holds the first Christian service on land in New Zealand at Rangihoua Bay.

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Holidays on December 25

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