◆ On this day

December 24

4 sourced moments from December 24 in history: The carol Silent Night was performed for the first time (1818); The Christmas Truce Spread Across the Western Front (1914); Why Apollo 8 read Genesis from lunar orbit on Christmas Eve (1968), plus 1 more.

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4 things happened on December 24

newest first ↓

2024 Space · Space Exploration

Parker Solar Probe: fastest object ever built, at 430,000 mph

NASA's Parker Solar Probe set its current speed record for a human-made object in 2024, and has matched it on every close pass since.

1968 Space · Space Exploration

Why Apollo 8 read Genesis from lunar orbit on Christmas Eve

NASA's only instruction was to do 'something appropriate.' How the Apollo 8 crew chose Genesis, and the protest that followed.

1914 History · War & Conflict

The Christmas Truce Spread Across the Western Front

On Christmas Eve 1914, enemy soldiers laid down their rifles, climbed from the trenches, and met as friends in No Man's Land.

1818 Culture & Arts · Music

The carol Silent Night was performed for the first time

A broken church organ in an Austrian village forced a guitar improvisation that became the world's most translated Christmas carol.