National Days This Week, Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2026: Hanukkah Begins Dec. 4

Sixteen observances fall between Monday, Nov. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 6, 2026, and Hanukkah begins at sundown on Friday, Dec. 4. Each is set by a United Nations (UN) resolution, a law, an organizer or a church calendar, read from that body’s own page on Nov. 13, 2026. A planner for the week follows the table.

Only days with an official setter are listed. Commercial “national food days” are left out. Cyber Monday (Nov. 30) is a retail date, not an observance; see Cyber Monday 2026 sale start times. The list continues from the previous week, Nov. 23-29.

Observances by day, Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2026

Date	Weekday	Observance	Set by	Our story
Nov. 30	Monday	Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare	Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) decision C-20, per the UN list
Nov. 30	Monday	St Andrew’s Day (Scotland bank holiday)	GOV.UK bank holidays	St Andrew’s Day 2026
Dec. 1	Tuesday	World acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) Day	UN list	World AIDS Day 2026
Dec. 1	Tuesday	GivingTuesday	GivingTuesday	GivingTuesday 2026
Dec. 1	Tuesday	Rosa Parks Day	State laws (Ohio, Texas)	Rosa Parks Day 2026
Dec. 2	Wednesday	International Day for the Abolition of Slavery	General Assembly resolution 317(IV)
Dec. 3	Thursday	International Day of Persons with Disabilities	General Assembly resolution 47/3
Dec. 3	Thursday	St Francis Xavier, priest (memorial)	Liturgy Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
Dec. 4	Friday	International Day of Banks	General Assembly resolution 74/245
Dec. 4	Friday	International Day Against Unilateral Coercive Measures	General Assembly resolution 79/293
Dec. 4	Friday	Hanukkah begins at sundown	Hebcal	Hanukkah 2026
Dec. 5	Saturday	International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development	General Assembly resolution 40/212	International Volunteer Day 2026
Dec. 5	Saturday	World Soil Day	General Assembly resolution 68/232
Dec. 6	Sunday	Second Sunday of Advent	Liturgy Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
Dec. 6	Sunday	National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (Canada)	Canadian Heritage flag rules	December 6 in Canada
Dec. 6	Sunday	St Nicholas Day (eve Dec. 5)	Orthodox Church in America (OCA)	St. Nicholas Day 2026

The UN list shows nothing for Sunday, Dec. 6.

Monday, Nov. 30: chemical warfare remembrance and St Andrew’s Day

The UN list shows the Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare on 30 Nov, citing decision C-20 of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). GOV.UK lists “30 November | Monday | St Andrew’s Day” for Scotland; the St Andrew’s Day story has the details.

Tuesday, Dec. 1: World AIDS Day, GivingTuesday and Rosa Parks Day

The UN list shows World AIDS Day on 1 Dec. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS programme page of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) says “Each year, on 1 December, the world commemorates World AIDS Day” and lists the 2026 campaign as “Ending AIDS starts with access.” HIV.gov, updated Oct. 14, 2026, names no 2026 U.S. theme. Our World AIDS Day story covers the theme.

GivingTuesday’s site shows “GivingTuesday – Dec 1, 2026” and “GivingTuesday Is December 1!”; see the GivingTuesday tax and charity check.

Texas HB 3481 reads “December 1 is Rosa Parks Day in honor of Rosa Louise McCauley Parks”, and Ohio Revised Code 5.2231 also sets December. Missouri 9.163 uses February 4 instead. Our Rosa Parks Day story lists the state texts.

Wednesday and Thursday: slavery, disability and a Jesuit missionary

The UN lists the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery on 2 Dec under resolution 317(IV), and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 Dec under resolution 47/3. The UN page still shows last year’s theme, “Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress”; the 2026 theme is not yet announced.

The Liturgy Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales lists “Thursday | 3 | St Francis Xavier, Priest | memorial”.

Friday, Dec. 4: Hanukkah, banks and coercive measures

Hebcal says “Chanukah for Hebrew Year 5787 begins at sundown on Friday, 4 December 2026” and that it “ends at nightfall on Saturday, 12 December 2026”. We print no candle-lighting clock times here; our Hanukkah story has the dates and the National Menorah.

The UN lists two days on 4 Dec: the International Day of Banks (resolution 74/245) and the International Day Against Unilateral Coercive Measures (resolution 79/293).

Saturday, Dec. 5: volunteers and soil

The UN lists International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development (resolution 40/212) and World Soil Day (resolution 68/232) on 5 Dec. The volunteer page shows the 2025 theme, “Every Contribution Matters”, and no 2026 theme. It says the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development “will be launched globally on 5 December.” See International Volunteer Day 2026. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) page shows “World Soil Day | 5 December” and no 2026 theme yet.

Sunday, Dec. 6: Advent, Canada and St Nicholas

The Liturgy Office calendar lists “Sunday | 6 | 2nd Sunday of Advent”. Canada’s federal flag rules list “December 6, National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women”, and the Government of Canada page ties it to “the murder of 14 young women at Polytechnique Montréal (December 6, 1989)”; its 16 Days campaign runs “November 25 to December 10”. The Canada flags story covers the half-mast rule.

The Orthodox Church in America lists Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker on Dec. 6; the eve is Saturday, Dec. 5. The St. Nicholas Day story explains why U.S. Catholic calendars skip him this year.

December week planner for Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2026

The one-page planner counts down to the Second Sunday of Advent on Dec. 6 and groups each day by setter in three columns: UN days, laws and organizers, and faith and church calendars. Each row carries the source’s own words, with a Done box and space for notes. St Nicholas Day is not on the sheet because we have no quoted source line for it. Pair it with the December 2026 printable calendar or a printable weekly calendar.