December 3 is:
National Peppermint Latte Day
Make a Gift Day
National Roof over Your Head Day
First Sunday of Advent, the first season of the Christian church year which leads up to Christmas. The word Advent comes from the Latin phrase
“Adventus Domini”, meaning arrival of the Lord.
In 2023the four Advent Sundays are December 3, December 10, December 17, and December 24th.
Traditionally Advent is commemorated by means of an Advent calendar or the lighting of the Advent wreath.
Anniversary of the First Text Message
On December 3, 1992, Neil Papworth, a 22 year old Canadian test engineer sent the first text message over the Vodafone GSM network to the cellphone of his colleague Richard Jarvis who was enjoying a staff Christmas party. The message simply read “Merry Christmas”.
Illinois Admission Day, Illinois became the 21st U. S. State in 1818
- Capital: Springfield
- Nickname: Land of Lincoln/Prairie State
- Bird: Cardinal
- Flower: Violet
- Tree: White Oak
- Motto: State sovereignty, national union
See our page Illinois for more interesting facts and trivia about Illinois.
In a State of the Union message of 1901, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt asked Congress to curb the power of trusts “within reasonable limits”.
Modern neon lighting was first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show in 1910.
December 3, Laurel and Hardy Putting Pants on Philip, the first Laurel and Hardy film, was released in 1927
The musical Camelot debuted at the Majestic Theater on Broadway in 1960. Cast included Julie Andrews, Richard Burton, Roddy McDowall and Robert Goulet. Music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner.
1967 – At Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, a transplant team headed by Christiaan Barnard carried out the first heart transplant on a human (53-year-old Louis Washkansky). He survived 18 days.
1992 – UN Security Council Resolution 794 was unanimously passed, approving a coalition of United Nations peacekeepers led by the United States to form UNITAF, with the task of establishing peace and ensuring that humanitarian aid was distributed in Somalia.
Christmas Music:
Several years ago I worked on a project to celebrate the music in my life. Nothing says Christmas like the carols and songs heard only at this time of year. Here’s today’s sample:
(by clicking the Windows Media Player icon button, a midi file will play [if it’s installed on your computer]. No music has been embedded.
Lyrics can be printed by using the File->Print Preview Commands. They will print in black ink with no images.)