Author: Lisa Mungovan

After 100 years of being extinct in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains, griffon vultures will soon be reintroduced to the Făgăraș area. Nicknamed Europe’s Yellowstone, the national park will be a refuge for wildlife, where griffon vultures will join Eurasion lynxes, wolves, brown bears, beavers, and bison, to help restore the ecosystem.

For a couple of weeks in December, the Geminids meteor showers are visible in the night sky. The meteors appear near the constellation Gemini, created from particles of the asteroid 3200 Phaethon. The Geminids won’t peak until the 13th, but you can look for some each night. Bundle up and bring cocoa!

Let’s celebrate earth today. Not the planet Earth, but dirt. It’s World Soil Day! After you play in the dirt, you can celebrate Bathtub Party Day. Make it nice and bubbly! It’s also International Ninja Day. Move silently, and see if you can slip around unseen.

Today is Faux Fur Friday. Leave the real fur on the animals, and wear a fake fur coat instead. How about one with pink tiger stripes? Another way to keep warm, is with a dashing sweater vest, to celebrate Sweater Vestival. Maybe you can even find one that lights up! Today, sleeves are overrated.

Today is World Wildlife Conservation Day. Many species of Earth’s wild animals are endangered, and need special protection. They are hunted by poachers, and their habitats are shrinking and becoming polluted. Organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, use donations to help endangered species. They’ll let you symbolically adopt an animal, and learn all about it.

Today is International Cheetah Day. The fastest land animal, the big cat can accelerate to 60 miles-per-hour in 3 seconds, and reach 75 miles-per-hour, in short bursts! They live mainly in Africa. Cheetahs have small spots, and black lines down their faces. They sound more like a chirping bird, than like a lion!

Today is Dice Day. Dice have been found in Egyptian tombs, that were 4000 years old! A standard die has 6 sides, but role-playing games have dice with 4, 12 or even 100 sides. It’s also Cookie Day. How many cookies do you get to eat? Roll a 120-sided die, and you might get 10 dozen!

Today is Sock Day. What socks will you wear? Whether they’re short, long, woolly, stretchy, striped, or mismatched, make sure they’re clean! It’s also Brown Shoes Day, so now your feet are dressed. Don’t let your feet have all the fun. It’s still Tie Month, so add some pizzazz to your neck too!

December 4th will be the last supermoon of 2025. A supermoon occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon’s perigee. The perigee is the point when the moon’s orbit brings it closest to Earth. Since it’s closer than normal, it makes the moon look huge! Don’t forget to look for it tonight!

Have you ever seen a coatimundi? World Coati Day celebrates the small mammal, found in North, Central, and South America. They are related to raccoons, with long flexible snouts and ringed tails. Coatis nest in trees like monkeys. Their ankles rotate 180 degrees, so they can scamper straight down the trunk.