Dec 22, 1882 – First Christmas tree illuminated by electric lights

Edward H. Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison and the Vice President of the Edison Electric Light Company, became the first person to decorate a Christmas tree with electric lights at his home in New York City.

Dec 23, 1958 – Tokyo Tower opened to the public

At 333 meters tall, it is world's tallest, self-supported steel tower. It is based on the Eiffel Tower and is used for communication purposes.

Dec 24, 1914 – Christmas Truce begins

A much-studied event in war and peace studies, the Christmas Truce was a brief unofficial ceasefire between British and German troops along the Western Front of World War I. During the truce, soldiers from both sides sang carols, shared food, exchanged gifts and played football (soccer). Subsequent attempts to hold similar ceasefires around Christmas time failed.

Dec 25, 1643 – Christmas Island discovered

Captain William Mynors on the East India Company ship Royal Mary did not stop at the Australian island, which owes its name to the date of its discovery by Europeans. It was not until 44 years later that the first Europeans stepped on the Island. Sparsely populated, the Indian Ocean island is rich in phosphate, which is mined from the guano, bird droppings.

Dec 26, 1941 – Fourth Thursday of November set as Thanksgiving Day in the US

The holiday has been celebrated officially in the United States since 1863. The first Thanksgiving is thought to have been observed by early settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony after their first harvest in 1621.

Dec 27, 2007 – Benazir Bhutto assassinated

The former Prime Minister of Pakistan was killed after a shooting and the detonation of a suicide bomb while campaigning for the upcoming elections in Rawalpindi. 

Dec 28, 1885 – Indian National Congress founded

Created by the members of the Theosophical Society, the party was a major player in India's independence movement against the British.