From Apollo 8 to the playpen: other world stories that were written at Christmas

The Apollo 8 mission and the first orbit of the Moon (1968)

It was 1968, a year before man set foot on the moon for the first time. The Apollo 8 mission, formed by astronauts William Anders, James Lovell and Frank Borman, took off on December 21 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the first manned mission to leave Earth’s orbit and orbit the Moon, a milestone they achieved for 20 hours. On Christmas Eve, the crew did a televised broadcast and read some verses from Genesis. They were the first to see the entire Earth and the far side of the Moon.

Soldiers Play Soccer: The Christmas Truce (1914)

The First World War was in its first months and thousands of soldiers were dying every day in the trenches. But on December 24 of that year, a miracle occurred. On the Belgian front, near the town of Ypres, German troops decorated Christmas trees and began singing Christmas carols. On the other side, the British responded by singing. Thus, around 100 thousand men decided to informally cease hostilities and even played a soccer game.

Argentina, the corralito and a helicopter escape (2001)

Months of economic adjustments and political instability caused one of the most serious crises experienced in the South American country. The last straw came on December 2, when the ‘corralito’ was imposed, which prohibited the withdrawal of cash from banks, and which affected the middle class above all. The protests broke out and ended with the resignation of President Fernando de la Rúa, who was succeeded by four leaders in a few days.

The United States invades Panama and overthrows its former agent, Manuel Noriega (1989)

It was no secret that the dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega was an old CIA agent and that he governed with the approval of Washington. But when the former friends stopped being friends, on December 20, 1989, President George HW Bush ordered Operation Just Cause, which mobilized 26,000 American soldiers to invade and capture the strongman of Panama.

The execution of Ceaucescu and the decline of communism (1989)

The Iron Curtain was falling in the late 1980s and a country seemed reluctant to give in. Nicolae Ceaucescu clung to power in Romania and ordered a bloody repression against the population, which left more than a thousand dead. However, the revolt ended up removing him from office and the communist dictator was captured along with his wife, Elena. Both were shot on December 25.

Gorbachev’s resignation and the end of the Soviet Union (1991)

By the end of 1991, the USSR only functioned on paper. After promoting opening to the West, Mikhail Gorbachev’s role had been diminished within his country and Boris Yeltsin was Russia’s new strongman. In fact, he and the leaders of the other Soviet republics had formed the Commonwealth of Independent States, so Gorbachev had no choice but to step aside. On December 25, 1991, the Soviet era had ended.

The deadly tsunami that killed more than 200 thousand people (2004)

On December 26, the day after Christmas, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake shook the sea floor of the Indian Ocean. The megaquake occurred off the coast of Sumatra, and caused the largest tsunami of the 21st century, unleashing immense waves that devastated islands and cities in Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and even India. Some 230,000 people died in the 14 countries affected by the tragedy, which have taken years to recover.