January 6 facts for kids

January 6th is a special day in history, filled with many important events, births, and deaths across centuries. From ancient coronations to modern scientific discoveries and significant political moments, this date has seen a lot happen around the world. It's a day that reminds us how much history is made every single day!

Historical Events on January 6

Early History (Before 1600)

• 1066 – After King Edward the Confessor died, a group of wise leaders called the Witan chose Harold Godwinson to be the new King of England. He was crowned on the same day. This event started a big argument over who should be king, which later led to the Norman conquest of England, a major change in English history.
• 1205 – Philip of Swabia had his second coronation as the King of the Romans.
• 1322 – Stephen Uroš III became the King of Serbia after winning a battle against his half-brother. His son was also crowned "young king" in the same ceremony.
• 1355 – Charles IV of Bohemia was crowned King of Italy in Milan with the special Iron Crown of Lombardy.
• 1449 – Constantine XI was crowned Byzantine Emperor in Mystras.
• 1492 – The Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, entered Granada. This marked the end of the Granada War.
• 1536 – The first European school of higher learning in the Americas, Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, was started in Mexico City. It was founded by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza and Bishop Juan de Zumárraga.
• 1540 – King Henry VIII of England married Anne of Cleves.
• 1579 – The Union of Arras brought together the southern parts of the Netherlands. They united under the Duke of Parma, who was the governor for King Philip II of Spain.

From 1601 to 1900

• 1641 – During the Arauco War, the first Parliament of Quillín took place. This meeting helped to temporarily stop the fighting between the Mapuche people and the Spanish in Chile.
• 1661 – During the English Restoration, a group called the Fifth Monarchists tried to take control of London, England, but they were stopped after a few days.
• 1721 – A special committee released its findings about the South Sea Bubble. This report showed that there was a lot of fraud among the company's leaders and some politicians.
• 1724 – The musical piece Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen by Bach was performed for the first time for the holiday of Epiphany.
• 1781 – In the Battle of Jersey, the British army defeated the last attempt by France to invade Jersey, one of the Channel Islands.
• 1809 – British, Portuguese, and Brazilian forces began the Invasion of Cayenne during the Napoleonic Wars.
• 1838 – Alfred Vail and his team showed off a telegraph system that used dots and dashes. This was an early version of what would become Morse code.
• 1839 – The Night of the Big Wind, a very powerful storm, swept across Ireland. It damaged or destroyed more than 20% of the houses in Dublin.
• 1847 – Samuel Colt received his first order to sell his revolver pistols to the United States government.
• 1870 – The Musikverein, a famous concert hall, was officially opened in Vienna, Austria.
• 1893 – The Washington National Cathedral was officially approved by the U.S. Congress. President Benjamin Harrison signed the approval.
• 1900 – In the Second Boer War, Boer forces attacked the fortress at Ladysmith, which they had already surrounded. However, British defenders fought them off.

Modern History (1901–Present)

• 1907 – Maria Montessori opened her very first school and daycare center in Rome, Italy. It was for children of working class families.
• 1912 – New Mexico officially became the 47th U.S. state.
• 1912 – German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first shared his idea of continental drift, explaining how continents move over time.
• 1929 – King Alexander of Yugoslavia temporarily stopped his country's constitution. This period was known as the January 6th Dictatorship.
• 1929 – Mother Teresa arrived in Calcutta, India, by sea. She began her important work helping the poorest and sickest people in India.
• 1930 – Clessie Cummins drove a car powered by one of his diesel engines all the way from Indianapolis to the National Automobile Show in New York City.
• 1941 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his famous Four Freedoms speech during his State of the Union address.
• 1946 – The first general election ever in Vietnam was held.
• 1947 – Pan American Airlines became the first airline to offer a round-the-world ticket.
• 1950 – The United Kingdom recognized the People's Republic of China. In response, the Republic of China ended its diplomatic relations with the UK.
• 1960 – The Associations Law became active in Iraq, which allowed political parties to be officially registered.
• 1967 – During the Vietnam War, United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops started "Operation Deckhouse Five" in the Mekong River delta.
• 1974 – Because of the 1973 oil crisis, daylight saving time started almost four months early in the United States.
• 1992 – President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia left the country because of a military coup.
• 1994 – During the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked and injured.
• 2000 – Celia, the last natural Pyrenean ibex, died from a falling tree, meaning the species became extinct.
• 2019 – Muhammad V of Kelantan stepped down as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia. He was the first monarch to do so.
• 2021 – Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump gathered at the United States Capitol building, which led to a disruption of the certification of the 2020 presidential election. This event caused the U.S. Congress to be evacuated.

Famous Birthdays on January 6

Born Before 1600

• 1256 – Gertrude the Great, a German mystic.
• 1367 – Richard II of England, a King of England.
• 1384 – Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent.
• 1412 – Joan of Arc, a French martyr and saint.
• 1486 – Martin Agricola, a German composer.
• 1488 – Helius Eobanus Hessus, a German poet.
• 1493 – Olaus Petri, a Swedish clergyman.
• 1500 – John of Ávila, a Spanish mystic and saint.
• 1525 – Caspar Peucer, a German physician and scholar.
• 1538 – Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria.
• 1561 – Thomas Fincke, a Danish mathematician and physicist.
• 1587 – Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares.
• 1595 – Claude Favre de Vaugelas, a French educator.

Born From 1601 to 1900

• 1617 – Christoffer Gabel, a Danish politician.
• 1632 – Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton, a Scottish noblewoman.
• 1655 – Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg.
• 1673 – James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, an English politician.
• 1695 – Giuseppe Sammartini, an Italian oboe player and composer.
• 1702 – José de Nebra, a Spanish composer.
• 1714 – Percivall Pott, an English surgeon.
• 1745 – Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier, a French co-inventor of the hot air balloon.
• 1766 – José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, the first dictator of Paraguay.
• 1785 – Andreas Moustoxydis, a Greek historian.
• 1793 – James Madison Porter, an American politician and 18th United States Secretary of War.
• 1795 – Anselme Payen, a French chemist.
• 1799 – Jedediah Smith, an American explorer.
• 1803 – Henri Herz, an Austrian pianist and composer.
• 1807 – Joseph Petzval, a German-Hungarian mathematician and physicist.
• 1808 – Joseph Pitty Couthouy, an American scientist.
• 1811 – Charles Sumner, an American lawyer and politician.
• 1822 – Heinrich Schliemann, a German archaeologist.
• 1832 – Gustave Doré, a French painter and sculptor.
• 1838 – Max Bruch, a German composer and conductor.
• 1842 – Clarence King, an American geologist.
• 1856 – Giuseppe Martucci, an Italian pianist and composer.
• 1857 – Hugh Mahon, an Irish-Australian politician and 10th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs.
• 1857 – William Russell, an American politician and 37th Governor of Massachusetts.
• 1859 – Samuel Alexander, an Australian-English philosopher.
• 1860 – Morton Selten, a British actor.
• 1861 – Victor Horta, a Belgian architect.
• 1861 – George Lloyd, an English-Canadian bishop.
• 1870 – Gustav Bauer, a German politician and 11th Chancellor of Germany.
• 1872 – Alexander Scriabin, a Russian pianist and composer.
• 1874 – Fred Niblo, an American actor and director.
• 1878 – Adeline Genée, a Danish-born British ballerina.
• 1878 – Carl Sandburg, an American poet and historian.
• 1880 – Tom Mix, an American cowboy and actor.
• 1881 – Ion Minulescu, a Romanian author.
• 1882 – Fan S. Noli, an Albanian-American bishop and 13th Prime Minister of Albania.
• 1882 – Sam Rayburn, an American politician and 48th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
• 1883 – Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese-American poet and philosopher.
• 1891 – Ted McDonald, an Australian cricketer.
• 1898 – James Fitzmaurice, an Irish pilot.
• 1899 – Heinrich Nordhoff, a German engineer.
• 1900 – Maria of Yugoslavia, Queen of Yugoslavia.

Born From 1901 to Present

• 1903 – Maurice Abravanel, a Greek-American conductor.
• 1910 – Kid Chocolate, a Cuban boxer.
• 1910 – Wright Morris, an American author and photographer.
• 1910 – Yiannis Papaioannou, a Greek composer.
• 1912 – Jacques Ellul, a French philosopher.
• 1912 – Danny Thomas, an American actor and comedian.
• 1913 – Edward Gierek, a Polish politician.
• 1913 – Loretta Young, an American actress.
• 1914 – Godfrey Edward Arnold, an Austrian-American physician.
• 1915 – Don Edwards, an American politician.
• 1915 – John C. Lilly, an American psychoanalyst.
• 1915 – Alan Watts, an English-American philosopher.
• 1916 – Park Mok-wol, a Korean poet.
• 1917 – Koo Chen-fu, a Taiwanese businessman.
• 1920 – Henry Corden, a Canadian-born American actor.
• 1920 – John Maynard Smith, an English biologist.
• 1920 – Sun Myung Moon, a Korean religious leader.
• 1920 – Early Wynn, an American baseball player.
• 1921 – Marianne Grunberg-Manago, a Russian-French biochemist.
• 1921 – Cary Middlecoff, an American golfer.
• 1923 – Vladimir Kazantsev, a Russian runner.
• 1923 – Norman Kirk, a New Zealand politician and 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand.
• 1923 – Jacobo Timerman, an Argentinian journalist.
• 1924 – Kim Dae-jung, a South Korean politician and 8th President of South Korea, who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1924 – Earl Scruggs, an American banjo player.
• 1925 – John DeLorean, an American engineer who founded the DeLorean Motor Company.
• 1926 – Ralph Branca, an American baseball player.
• 1926 – Pat Flaherty, an American race car driver.
• 1926 – Mickey Hargitay, a Hungarian-American actor and bodybuilder.
• 1927 – Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, an American physician and 11th Surgeon General of the United States.
• 1928 – Capucine, a French actress and model.
• 1930 – Vic Tayback, an American actor.
• 1931 – E. L. Doctorow, an American novelist.
• 1931 – Graeme Hole, an Australian cricketer.
• 1931 – Dickie Moore, a Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1932 – Simon Oates, an English actor.
• 1932 – Stuart A. Rice, an American chemist.
• 1933 – John Clive, an English actor and author.
• 1933 – Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, a Russian astronaut.
• 1934 – Harry M. Miller, a New Zealand-Australian talent agent.
• 1934 – Sylvia Syms, an English actress.
• 1935 – Ian Meckiff, an Australian cricketer.
• 1935 – Nino Tempo, an American musician.
• 1936 – Darlene Hard, an American tennis player.
• 1936 – Julio María Sanguinetti, a Uruguayan politician and 29th President of Uruguay.
• 1937 – Ludvík Daněk, a Czech discus thrower.
• 1937 – Lou Holtz, an American football coach.
• 1937 – Doris Troy, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1938 – Adriano Celentano, an Italian singer and actor.
• 1938 – Adrienne Clarke, an Australian botanist.
• 1938 – Larisa Shepitko, a Soviet film director.
• 1939 – Valeriy Lobanovskyi, a Ukrainian footballer and manager.
• 1939 – Murray Rose, an English-Australian swimmer.
• 1940 – Van McCoy, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1943 – Terry Venables, an English footballer and manager.
• 1944 – Bonnie Franklin, an American actress.
• 1944 – Alan Stivell, a French singer and harp player.
• 1944 – Rolf M. Zinkernagel, a Swiss immunologist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1945 – Barry John, a Welsh rugby player.
• 1946 – Syd Barrett, an English singer-songwriter and guitarist.
• 1947 – Sandy Denny, an English folk-rock singer-songwriter.
• 1948 – Guy Gardner, an American astronaut.
• 1948 – Dayle Hadlee, a New Zealand cricketer.
• 1949 – Mike Boit, a Kenyan runner.
• 1949 – Carolyn D. Wright, an American poet.
• 1950 – Louis Freeh, an American lawyer and 10th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
• 1951 – Don Gullett, an American baseball player.
• 1951 – Kim Wilson, an American singer and harmonica player.
• 1953 – Malcolm Young, a Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist.
• 1954 – Anthony Minghella, an English director.
• 1955 – Rowan Atkinson, an English actor and comedian.
• 1956 – Elizabeth Strout, an American novelist.
• 1956 – Justin Welby, an English archbishop.
• 1956 – Clive Woodward, an English rugby player and coach.
• 1957 – Michael Foale, a British-American astronaut.
• 1957 – Nancy Lopez, an American golfer.
• 1958 – Shlomo Glickstein, an Israeli tennis player.
• 1959 – Kapil Dev, an Indian cricketer.
• 1960 – Paul Azinger, an American golfer.
• 1960 – Kari Jalonen, a Finnish ice hockey player.
• 1960 – Nigella Lawson, an English chef and author.
• 1960 – Howie Long, an American football player.
• 1961 – Georges Jobé, a Belgian motocross racer.
• 1961 – Nigel Melville, an English rugby player.
• 1961 – Peter Whittle, a British politician.
• 1963 – Norm Charlton, an American baseball player.
• 1963 – Paul Kipkoech, a Kenyan runner.
• 1964 – Charles Haley, an American football player.
• 1964 – Jyrki Kasvi, a Finnish journalist and politician.
• 1964 – Jacqueline Moore, an American wrestler.
• 1965 – Bjørn Lomborg, a Danish author.
• 1966 – Sharon Cuneta, a Filipino singer and actress.
• 1966 – Attilio Lombardo, an Italian footballer.
• 1967 – A. R. Rahman, an Indian composer and singer.
• 1968 – John Singleton, an American director and producer.
• 1969 – Norman Reedus, an American actor and model.
• 1969 – Aron Eisenberg, an American actor.
• 1970 – Julie Chen, an American television journalist.
• 1970 – Radoslav Látal, a Czech footballer.
• 1970 – Gabrielle Reece, an American volleyball player.
• 1971 – Irwin Thomas, an American-Australian singer.
• 1973 – Vasso Karantasiou, a Greek beach volleyball player.
• 1974 – Marlon Anderson, an American baseball player.
• 1974 – Daniel Cordone, an Argentinian footballer.
• 1974 – Paul Grant, an American basketball player.
• 1975 – James Farrior, an American football player.
• 1976 – Johan Davidsson, a Swedish ice hockey player.
• 1976 – Danny Pintauro, an American actor.
• 1976 – Richard Zedník, a Slovak ice hockey player.
• 1978 – Casey Fossum, an American baseball player.
• 1978 – Bubba Franks, an American football player.
• 1981 – Rinko Kikuchi, a Japanese actress.
• 1981 – Asante Samuel, an American football player.
• 1982 – Gilbert Arenas, an American basketball player.
• 1982 – Roy Asotasi, a New Zealand rugby league player.
• 1982 – Tiffany Pollard, an American television personality.
• 1982 – Eddie Redmayne, an English actor and model.
• 1983 – Adam Burish, an American ice hockey player.
• 1983 – Chen Nan, a Chinese basketball player.
• 1984 – A. J. Hawk, an American football player.
• 1984 – Kate McKinnon, an American actress and comedian.
• 1984 – Eric Trump, an American businessman.
• 1986 – Paul McShane, an Irish footballer.
• 1986 – Petter Northug, a Norwegian skier.
• 1986 – Alex Turner, an English singer and musician.
• 1987 – Arin Hanson, an American YouTuber.
• 1987 – Bongani Khumalo, a South African footballer.
• 1987 – Ndamukong Suh, an American football player.
• 1989 – Andy Carroll, an English footballer.
• 1989 – Derrick Morgan, an American football player.
• 1990 – Sean Kilpatrick, an American basketball player.
• 1991 – Will Barton, an American basketball player.
• 1991 – Kevin Gausman, an American baseball player.
• 1992 – Corey Conners, a Canadian professional golfer.
• 1993 – Pat Connaughton, an American basketball player.
• 1994 – Catriona Gray, a Filipino-Australian model and Miss Universe 2018.
• 1994 – Jameis Winston, an American football player.
• 1999 – Polo G, an American rapper.
• 1999 – Mac McClung, an American basketball player.
• 2000 – Kwon Eun-bin, a South Korean singer and actress.
• 2000 – Jack McBain, a Canadian ice hockey player.
• 2001 – Kenyon Martin Jr., an American basketball player.

Notable Deaths on January 6

Died Before 1600

• 786 – Abo of Tiflis, an Iraqi saint.
• 1088 – Berengar of Tours, a French scholar.
• 1148 – Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke.
• 1233 – Matilda of Chester, Countess of Huntingdon, an Anglo-Norman noblewoman.
• 1275 – Raymond of Penyafort, a Catalan archbishop and saint.
• 1350 – Giovanni I di Murta, the second leader of the Republic of Genoa.
• 1358 – Gertrude van der Oosten, a Beguine mystic.
• 1406 – Roger Walden, an English bishop.
• 1448 – Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
• 1477 – Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme.
• 1478 – Uzun Hasan, a ruler of the Turkoman Aq Qoyunlu dynasty.
• 1481 – Ahmed Khan bin Küchük, a Mongolian ruler.
• 1537 – Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence.
• 1537 – Baldassare Peruzzi, an Italian architect and painter.

Died From 1601 to 1900

• 1616 – Philip Henslowe, an English theater manager.
• 1646 – Elias Holl, a German architect.
• 1689 – Seth Ward, an English bishop and scientist.
• 1693 – Mehmed IV, an Ottoman sultan.
• 1711 – Philips van Almonde, a Dutch admiral.
• 1718 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, an Italian lawyer.
• 1725 – Chikamatsu Monzaemon, a Japanese playwright.
• 1731 – Étienne François Geoffroy, a French physician and chemist.
• 1734 – John Dennis, an English playwright.
• 1813 – Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers, a French general.
• 1829 – Josef Dobrovský, a Czech historian.
• 1831 – Rodolphe Kreutzer, a French violinist and composer.
• 1840 – Frances Burney, an English author.
• 1852 – Louis Braille, a French educator who invented Braille.
• 1855 – Giacomo Beltrami, an Italian explorer.
• 1882 – Richard Henry Dana Jr., an American lawyer.
• 1884 – Gregor Mendel, a Czech geneticist and botanist.
• 1885 – Bharatendu Harishchandra, an Indian author.
• 1896 – Thomas W. Knox, an American journalist.

Died From 1901 to Present

• 1902 – Lars Hertervig, a Norwegian painter.
• 1913 – Frederick Hitch, an English soldier and Victoria Cross recipient.
• 1917 – Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack, a Dutch economist.
• 1918 – Georg Cantor, a German mathematician.
• 1919 – Theodore Roosevelt, an American politician and 26th President of the United States.
• 1921 – Devil Anse Hatfield, an American leader.
• 1922 – Jakob Rosanes, a Ukrainian-German mathematician.
• 1928 – Alvin Kraenzlein, an American athlete.
• 1928 – Wilhelm Ramsay, a Finnish geologist.
• 1933 – Vladimir de Pachmann, a Ukrainian-German pianist.
• 1934 – Herbert Chapman, an English footballer and manager.
• 1937 – André Bessette, a Canadian saint.
• 1939 – Gustavs Zemgals, a Latvian politician and 2nd President of Latvia.
• 1941 – Charley O'Leary, an American baseball player.
• 1942 – Emma Calvé, a French singer.
• 1942 – Henri de Baillet-Latour, a Belgian businessman and 3rd President of the International Olympic Committee.
• 1944 – Jacques Rosenbaum, an Estonian-German architect.
• 1944 – Ida Tarbell, an American journalist and reformer.
• 1945 – Vladimir Vernadsky, a Russian scientist.
• 1949 – Victor Fleming, an American director.
• 1966 – Jean Lurçat, a French painter.
• 1972 – Chen Yi, a Chinese general and 2nd Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China.
• 1974 – David Alfaro Siqueiros, a Mexican painter.
• 1978 – Burt Munro, a New Zealand motorcycle racer.
• 1981 – A. J. Cronin, a Scottish author.
• 1984 – Ernest Laszlo, a Hungarian-American cinematographer.
• 1990 – Ian Charleson, a Scottish-English actor.
• 1990 – Pavel Cherenkov, a Russian physicist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1991 – Alan Wiggins, an American baseball player.
• 1992 – Steve Gilpin, a New Zealand vocalist.
• 1993 – Dizzy Gillespie, an American singer and trumpet player.
• 1993 – Rudolf Nureyev, a Russian-French dancer.
• 1995 – Joe Slovo, a Lithuanian-South African politician.
• 1999 – Michel Petrucciani, a French-American pianist.
• 2004 – Pierre Charles, a Dominican politician and 5th Prime Minister of Dominica.
• 2005 – Eileen Desmond, an Irish politician and 12th Irish Minister for Health.
• 2005 – Lois Hole, a Canadian politician and 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.
• 2005 – Tarquinio Provini, an Italian motorcycle racer.
• 2006 – Lou Rawls, an American singer-songwriter.
• 2007 – Roberta Wohlstetter, an American political scientist.
• 2008 – Shmuel Berenbaum, a Rabbi.
• 2009 – Ron Asheton, an American guitarist.
• 2011 – Uche Okafor, a Nigerian footballer.
• 2012 – Bob Holness, a South African-English radio and television host.
• 2012 – Spike Pola, an Australian footballer.
• 2013 – Ruth Carter Stevenson, an American art collector.
• 2013 – Gerard Helders, a Dutch politician.
• 2013 – Cho Sung-min, a South Korean baseball player.
• 2014 – Marina Ginestà, a French Resistance soldier.
• 2014 – Nelson Ned, a Brazilian singer-songwriter.
• 2014 – Julian Rotter, an American psychologist.
• 2015 – Arthur Jackson, an American target shooter.
• 2015 – Basil John Mason, an English meteorologist.
• 2016 – Pat Harrington, Jr., an American actor.
• 2016 – Florence King, an American journalist and author.
• 2016 – Christy O'Connor Jnr, an Irish golfer.
• 2016 – Silvana Pampanini, an Italian model and actress.
• 2017 – Octavio Lepage, a Venezuelan politician and President of Venezuela.
• 2017 – Om Puri, an Indian actor.
• 2019 – José Ramón Fernández, a Cuban revolution leader.
• 2019 – Lamin Sanneh, a Gambian-born American professor.
• 2019 – W. Morgan Sheppard, a British actor.
• 2019 – Paul Streeten, an Austrian-born British economics professor.
• 2020 – Richard Maponya, a South African businessman.
• 2020 – Gordon Renwick, a Canadian ice hockey administrator.
• 2021 – James Cross, a British diplomat.
• 2022 – Peter Bogdanovich, an American actor and director.
• 2022 – Sidney Poitier, a Bahamian-American actor and diplomat.
• 2022 – Francisco Sionil Jose, a Philippine novelist.

Holidays and Celebrations

• Armed Forces Day (Iraq)
• Christian Feast days:
  • André Bessette (Roman Catholic Church)
  • January 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Christmas:
  • Christmas (Armenian Apostolic Church)
  • Christmas Eve (Russia)
  • Christmas Eve (Ukraine)
  • Christmas Eve (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  • Christmas Eve (North Macedonia)
• Epiphany or Three Kings' Day (Western Christianity) or Theophany (Eastern Christianity), and related celebrations:
  • Befana Day (Italy)
  • Little Christmas (Ireland)
  • Þrettándinn (Iceland)

Images for kids

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  A friendly robot, representing learning and discovery.

See also

In Spanish: 6 de enero para niños