December 9 Holidays

International Anti-Corruption Day was established by the UN General Assembly to mark December 9, 2003, when the United Nations Convention Against Corruption opened for signature — raising awareness for corruption, which the World Economic Forum estimates costs $3.6 trillion annually in lost GDP. Tanzania Independence Day marks December 9, 1961, when Tanganyika gained independence from Britain under Julius Nyerere — who led the country to independence through peaceful means and then merged Tanganyika with Zanzibar in 1964 to form Tanzania. National Pastry Day celebrates the pastry in its diverse forms — from French croissants and Danish pastries to Middle Eastern baklava and Indian samosa — a category whose defining technique is the enrichment of wheat dough with fat, heat, and patience. National Llama Day celebrates the South American camelid that the Inca Empire used as a pack animal, fiber source, and ritual sacrifice for 6,000 years — now a globally popular zoo animal, therapy animal, and social media celebrity.