6 astonishing facts about December that will blow your mind

December was originally the 10th month on the calendar

The initial Roman calendar consisted of 10 months beginning with March and ending in December. The prefix decem is Latin for 10.

When January and February were first added to the calendar, December consisted of 29 days but this was later changed to 31 days which we have now.

The unluckiest day of the year is December 28th

December 28 is considered the unluckiest day of the year and this is surprisingly attributed to the story of Jesus Christ.

There are beliefs that this was the day King Herod gave the order to annihilate young boys. A day of remembrance dubbed Holy Innocents Day, is marked annually to commemorate the incident.

Due to this perceived bad luck, people are advised not to start a new job or get into a new relationship on December 28th.

What does December have in common with September and April?

Well, an interesting mathematical occurrence around December is that the first day of the month always falls on the same day of the week as September's first day. And the last day of December always falls on the same day of the week as the last day of April.

Dentists and December

A 2011 survey found that an unusually high number of dentists have their birthdays in December.

A number of global pop stars also have their birthdays in December, including Britney Spears (December 2), Jay Z (December 4), Taylor Swift (December 13), Samuel L. Jackson (December 21) Denzel Washington (December 28) and Tiger Woods (December 30).

The Geminid Meteor Shower

The Geminids are an annual meteor shower event considered to be one of the most unique and most reliable stellar events of the year.

Interestingly, this shower is visible in both the northern and southern hemispheres and usually peaks on the night of December 14 and 15th.

Another unique element of the Geminid Meteor Shower is that unlike most other meteor showers which originate from comets, these originate from Asteroid 3200 Phaethon.

The Nobel Peace Prize

One of the most coveted (and controversial) awards ceremony takes place annually on December 10th, the Nobel Peace Prize. Laureates are announced on this day every year commemorating the day Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, passed away.