National Days This Week, Dec. 14-20, 2026: 12 Observances

Twelve observances fall between Monday, Dec. 14 and Sunday, Dec. 20, 2026, and Thursday, Dec. 17 holds two aviation days: Wright Brothers Day and Pan American Aviation Day. Each comes from the United Nations (UN) observances list, U.S. law, a presidential proclamation, a church calendar or an organizer’s own page. A planner for the week follows the table.

Only days with a named setter are listed. Commercial “national food days” are left out, because we found no official page for them. Hanukkah ended at nightfall on Saturday, Dec. 12, so it has no row this week.

Observances by day, Dec. 14-20, 2026

Date	Weekday	Observance	Set by	Our story
Dec. 14	Monday	International Day against Colonialism in All its Forms and Manifestations	UN list
Dec. 14	Monday	St John of the Cross (memorial)	Liturgy Office of England and Wales
Dec. 15	Tuesday	Bill of Rights Day	Presidential proclamation (2025: dated Dec. 15, 2025); no U.S. Code section found	Bill of Rights Day 2026
Dec. 15	Tuesday	World Turkic Language Family Day	UN list, tagged United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Dec. 16	Wednesday	Las Posadas begins (nine nights to Dec. 24)	Olvera Street, Los Angeles	Las Posadas 2026
Dec. 17	Thursday	Wright Brothers Day	36 U.S. Code 143	Wright Brothers Day 2026
Dec. 17	Thursday	Pan American Aviation Day	36 U.S. Code 134
Dec. 18	Friday	International Migrants Day	UN list
Dec. 18	Friday	Arabic Language Day	UN list
Dec. 19	Saturday	International Day of Recognition for Women Searchers of Missing Persons	UN list
Dec. 20	Sunday	International Human Solidarity Day	UN list
Dec. 20	Sunday	Fourth Sunday of Advent	Liturgy Office of England and Wales

Monday and Tuesday: colonialism, a saint and the Bill of Rights

The UN list shows “14 Dec” for the International Day against Colonialism in All its Forms and Manifestations. The Liturgy Office of England and Wales lists “Monday 14 St John of the Cross, Priest, Doctor of the Church memorial”.

Bill of Rights Day is Tuesday, Dec. 15. The White House page “Bill of Rights Day, 2025” is dated Dec. 15, 2025, and says: “do hereby proclaim December 15, 2025, as Bill of Rights Day”. That is last year’s proclamation. No 2026 proclamation had been issued as of Nov. 13, and we found no U.S. Code section for the day, so none is cited. Our Bill of Rights Day story has the amendments and the history. The same day carries “15 Dec” for World Turkic Language Family Day, which the UN list marks [UNESCO].

Wednesday and Thursday: Las Posadas and two aviation days

Olvera Street in Los Angeles says Las Posadas is played out for nine nights, “from December 16 through Christmas Eve”. Our Las Posadas story covers the nights and the Los Angeles details.

Thursday, Dec. 17 is covered twice in the U.S. Code. 36 U.S. Code 143 says: “December 17 is Wright Brothers Day.” It commemorates the first successful flights in a heavier than air, mechanically propelled airplane, made on Dec. 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and asks the President to issue a proclamation each year. In 2025 the White House issued a “Presidential Message on Wright Brothers Day” on Dec. 17, 2025, which is a message and not a proclamation. See Wright Brothers Day 2026 for the memorial and the four flights.

36 U.S. Code 134 is a different section: “The President may issue each year a proclamation” designating December 17 as Pan American Aviation Day.

Friday to Sunday: migrants, Arabic, searchers and solidarity

The UN list shows two days on “18 Dec”: International Migrants Day and Arabic Language Day. The UN’s Migrants Day page shows “2025 Theme: My Great Story: Cultures and Development”; the 2026 theme is not yet announced. On “19 Dec” the list shows the International Day of Recognition for Women Searchers of Missing Persons.

International Human Solidarity Day is “20 Dec” on the UN list, and its 2026 theme is not yet announced. The same Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Advent: the England and Wales calendar reads “Sunday 20 4th Sunday of Advent”. Advent began Nov. 29, 2026.

Week planner for Dec. 14-20, 2026

The one-page planner counts down to the Fourth Sunday of Advent on Dec. 20 and groups each day by setter in three columns: UN days, U.S. law and holidays, and organizers and churches. Each row carries the source’s own words, with a Done box and space for notes. St John of the Cross and the Fourth Sunday of Advent are in the table only, because the Liturgy Office gives those days as bare numbers and the sheet carries each day’s quoted source line. Pair it with the December 2026 printable calendar or a printable weekly calendar. For the week before, see national days for Dec. 7-13.