by Diana Filer
- Greeks traditionally hang an onion on front doors on New Year’s Eve, as a symbol of rebirth during the next year.
- Bump fire is the act of using the recoil of semi-automatic firearms in rapid succession. The USA classified this as a machine gun, and this month produced a regulation banning the use, to go into effect in March.
- Marie-Rose-Joseph de Tascher de la Pagerie, born in Martinique, became the first wife of the emperor Napoleon and thus the first French empress.
- Freestyle skier Mikael Kingsbury has been named Canada’s Athlete of the Year by the Canadian Press. The CP named golfer Brooke Henderson as female athlete of the year.
- Juba is the capital of the Republic of South Sudan.
