Today is Christmas Day.

In a book that is known to have been compiled in the year 354 A.D., these words appear in an entry for the year 336: “25 Dec.: natus Christus in Betleem Judeae.” (Translated: December 25, Christ born in Bethlehem, Judea.) Thus, since some time in the 4th Century, Christians have celebrated the mass of Christ’s birth on December 25.

By the 6th Century, the December 25 date for the birth of Christ was common knowledge, so common that the monk who is credited with inventing the concept of the B.C./A.D. calendar, Dionysus Exiguus, wrote that “December 25 in the year 1” was the date of Christ’s birth.

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Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as President of the Soviet Union on this date in 1991. It was a position that had been created to replace the Soviet-era General Secretary job, which had been abolished in 1990. The USSR ceased operations 25 years ago today.

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W. C. Fields died on this date in 1946. Charlie Chaplin died on this date in 1977. Dean Martin died on this date in 1995. Dean Martin:

 
James Brown died 10 years ago today. Eartha Kitt died in 2008 on this date. “Santa Baby”:

 
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Humphrey Bogart was born on this date in 1899. Rod Serling was born in 1924 on this date.

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Gary Sandy is 71 today. Jimmy Buffett is 70. Barbara Mandrell is 68. Sissy Spacek is 67. Shane MacGowan is 59 today. The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl perform MacGowan’s Christmas song:

 
Alannah Myles is 58. Dido is 45. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is 45.

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