--- ---  # Why the Nobel Peace Prize Is Always Presented on the Same Day ## Video: Memorable Nobel Peace Prize Speeches [Watch (HLS stream): Memorable Nobel Peace Prize Speeches](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HMrEJltm.m3u8) (2:27)  _Published 2015-10-08. Memorable Nobel Peace Prize Speeches_  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Dec 10, 2015 11:00 AM UTC  Alfred Nobel (1833-96), Swedish chemist and inventor, pictured circa 1750 Alfred Nobel (1833-96), Swedish chemist and inventor, pictured circa 1750UniversalImagesGroup / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Dec 10, 2015 11:00 AM UTC It’s been months since the [Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet](http://time.com/4067755/nobel-peace-prize-winner-national-dialogue-quartet-tunisia/) was announced as the winner of the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, but in the intervening weeks they’ve been laureates in name only: Thursday is the day on which the honorees will actually receive the Nobel medal and have a chance to deliver a Nobel lecture. That date is no coincidence. Ever since the first Nobel prizes were awarded in 1901, they have been conferred on Dec. 10\. The first ceremony took place five years to the day after Nobel died, and it has since become what the Nobel Committee [calls](http://nobelpeaceprize.org/en%5FGB/about%5Fpeaceprize/important-dates/) an “established tradition.” The date was one of the very few instructions for the prizes that Nobel didn’t specify in his will, as TIME has [explained](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1930515,00.html) before: --- > “” --- **_Read more about the history of the Nobel Prize:_** [_The Tragic Nobel Peace Prize Story You’ve Probably Never Heard_](http://time.com/3484975/nobel-peace-prize-ossietzky/) [_Why a Nobel Peace Prize Was Once Rejected_](http://time.com/4061794/nobel-peace-prize-winner-history/) Nobel Peace Prize: Why It's Always Presented on the Same Day ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4134930/nobel-peace-prize-december-10/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4134930/nobel-peace-prize-december-10/"},"headline":"Why the Nobel Peace Prize Is Always Presented on the Same Day","datePublished":"2015-12-10T11:00:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:56:56.974Z","description":"The winner is announced earlier, but the medal is given on Dec. 10 every year","url":"https://time.com/4134930/nobel-peace-prize-december-10/","keywords":["awards","People"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt183afed68f5967aa/698873aacd1bba04106fe5b4/nobel.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt183afed68f5967aa/698873aacd1bba04106fe5b4/nobel.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Alfred Nobel (1833-96) Swedish chemist and inventor. Dynamite. Endowed Nobel Prizes","caption":"Alfred Nobel (1833-96) Swedish chemist and inventor. Dynamite. Endowed Nobel Prizes","creditText":"UniversalImagesGroup / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/awards/","name":"awards"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4134930/nobel-peace-prize-december-10/","name":"Why the Nobel Peace Prize Is Always Presented on the Same Day"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Memorable Nobel Peace Prize Speeches","description":"Memorable Nobel Peace Prize Speeches","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/HMrEJltm/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-10-08T20:58:03.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HMrEJltm.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4134930/nobel-peace-prize-december-10/","duration":"PT2M27S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4134930/nobel-peace-prize-december-10/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```