Skip to main content

The Christmas Truce

Born on This Day

Rod Serling

1924 - 1975

TV writer, producer and playwright, best known for creating the iconic TV series "The Twilight Zone."

Jimmy Buffett

1946 - 2023

Singer-songwriter and businessman known for epitomizing the laid-back tropical lifestyle. Hits include "Margaritaville" and "Come Monday."

Annie Lennox

1954 -

Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist who rose to fame with the popular 1980s British rock duo Eurythmics.

Rod SerlingGetty Images

Jimmy BuffettBruce Glikas/FilmMagic

Annie LennoxRedferns

1950

DEC25

Four Scottish students brazenly steal the Stone of Destiny, an ancient symbol of Scotland that had been seized by England’s King Edward I in 1296, from Westminster Abbey. Recovered four months later, it returned permanently to Edinburgh in 1996.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on December 25th

Christ is born?

Although Jesus Christ is believed by many to have been born on December 25, his exact birth date remains unknown.

George Washington crosses the Delaware

During the American Revolution, Patriot General George Washington crosses the Delaware River with 5,400 troops, hoping to surprise a Hessian force celebrating Christmas at their winter quarters in Trenton, New Jersey. The unconventional attack came after several months of substantial defeats for Washington’s army that had resulted in the loss of New York City and […]

The legend of “Stagger Lee” is born

On Christmas night 1895, a barroom argument between two men—one named Billy and another named “Stag” Lee—takes place, leading to murder. The killing would inspire an iconic blues song. Murder and mayhem inspired many popular songs over the years, though more often than not, the tales around which such songs revolve tend to be wholly […]

Bing Crosby introduces “White Christmas” to the world

“White Christmas,” written by the formidable composer and lyricist Irving Berlin, receives its world premiere on December 25, 1941 on Bing Crosby’s weekly NBC radio program, The Kraft Music Hall. It went on to become one of the most commercially successful singles of all time. “White Christmas” took its first steps toward becoming a bedrock […]

“To Kill a Mockingbird” film premieres in Los Angeles

On December 25, 1962, To Kill a Mockingbird, a film based on the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Harper Lee, opens in Los Angeles. The Great Depression-era story of racial injustice and the loss of childhood innocence is told from the perspective of a young Alabama girl named Scout Finch, played […]

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Miami Dolphins beat Kansas City Chiefs in NFL’s longest game

On December 25, 1971, Garo Yepremian boots a 37-yard field goal in the second overtime of an AFC playoff game to give the Miami Dolphins a 27-24 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the longest game in NFL history. Game time elapsed for the Christmas contest: 82 minutes and 40 seconds. “After I kicked […]

Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the USSR

Mikhail Gorbachev announces that he is resigning as president of the Soviet Union. In truth, there was not much of a Soviet Union from which to resign—just four days earlier, 11 of the former Soviet republics had established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), effectively dismembering the USSR. The Soviet Union, for all intents and […]

Katie Hnida is first woman to play in Division I football game

On December 25, 2002, the University of New Mexico junior place-kicker Katie Hnida attempts to kick an extra point in a game against UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl. Though her kick was blocked by UCLA, Hnida became the first woman to play in a Division I football game. Hnida was the latest of a […]

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement