Next: 25 Dec 2026
Christmas
The birth of Jesus: carols, the crib, trees, lights, presents and a family meal, kept with local foods everywhere.
When is Christmas in 2026?
Christmas 2026 is on Friday, 25 December 2026. Other years: 2027, Saturday, 25 December 2027; 2028, Monday, 25 December 2028.
About Christmas
Christmas, on 25 December in Western churches, celebrates the birth of Jesus. Worship at midnight or on the morning of the day includes carols and the reading of the nativity story, while many homes set up a crib or nativity scene, a custom made popular by Saint Francis in 1223, and an evergreen tree, which came from Germany. The meal is the centre of the family day: roast goose or turkey and a plum pudding in Britain, panettone and cappon in Italy, bûche de Noël in France, ham in the United States, and roast pork or lechon in the Philippines and Latin America. Gifts are brought by Santa Claus, Father Christmas, the Christkind, Papá Noel or the Three Kings, depending on the country. In the southern hemisphere it falls in summer, with beach barbecues.
Christmas dates: 2026, 2027, 2028
| Year | Christmas date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Friday, 25 December 2026 |
| 2027 | Saturday, 25 December 2027 |
| 2028 | Monday, 25 December 2028 |
What is eaten
- roast turkey
- Christmas pudding
- panettone
- buche de Noel
- lechon
- fruitcake
Traditions of Christmas
Also part of it, and being written: Santa Claus (The gift-bringer of many countries.).
More marked on Christmas
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreChristmas Eve
The evening before Christmas, marked by church services, family meals, and gift preparations across Christian cultures.Festival · Dinner
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMumming
A medieval European custom of masked house-to-house visits, performances and seasonal revelry.Festival
🇳🇴 Norway and 3 moreJulebukkingGå julebukk
A Scandinavian Christmas custom where masked visitors go door to door for songs and treats.Festival
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 5 moreMoko Jumbie
A stilt-walking tradition from the Caribbean that blends African heritage with local carnival celebrations.Performance
🇩🇲 Dominica and 4 moreBéléBèlè
A Caribbean drum, call-and-response song, and courtship dance traditionPerformance
🇲🇽 San Salvador Huixcolotla, Mexico and 1 morePapel picado
A Mexican folk art of cutting intricate designs into tissue paper for festive and spiritual displays.Festival
🇳🇬 NigeriaMmanwuMmanwụ
An Igbo masquerade tradition invoking ancestral spirits through masked performanceSpiritual
🇵🇭 Manila, Philippines and 5 moreNovena
A nine-day Christian prayer tradition for petitions, feasts, or mourning.Spiritual
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesRockefeller Center Christmas Tree
A towering spruce lit annually in New York City to mark the start of the holiday season.Festival
🇪🇸 Santiago de Compostela, SpainBotafumeiro
A giant swinging censer of brass and silver that fills the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral with incense during solemn fSpiritual
🇳🇬 Calabar, NigeriaCalabar Carnival
An annual December street festival and cultural gathering held in Calabar, NigeriaFestival
🇩🇪 Nuremberg, Germany and 5 moreChristmas marketWeihnachtsmarkt
A seasonal street market held during Advent in German-speaking regions and beyond, featuring stalls, food, and crafts.Festival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreSaint Stephen's Day
A Christian feast day celebrating the first martyr with feasts, rides and folk customs.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇪 Gävle, SwedenGävle goatGävlebocken
A towering straw Yule goat built each Advent in the central square of GävleFestival
🇸🇪 Gävle, Sweden and 1 moreYule goatJulbocken
A straw goat of northern Christmas, once a harvest spirit, now a tree ornamentFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreYule log
A log kept burning on the hearth through the twelve days of Christmas, for luckSeasonal
🇵🇱 Kraków, PolandKraków szopkaszopka krakowska
Elaborate Christmas cribs modelled on historic Polish architecture in KrakówCraft
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas cracker
A decorative paper tube pulled apart with a bang during Christmas dinnerFestival · Dinner
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, Denmark and 4 moreRisalamande
A chilled Danish Christmas rice dessert with cream, chopped almonds and cherry sauceTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 7 moreKoliadaКоляда
A traditional winter caroling and solstice festival kept across Slavic EuropeFestival
🇫🇮 Finland and 5 moreMolybdomancy
Pouring molten lead or tin into water, then reading the shape as an omenFolklore
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 1 moreDidukhдідух
A wheat sheaf kept at Christmas to honour ancestors and pray for a bountiful harvestHome
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Christmas" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Christmas tree: Lechhansl, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saint Stephen's Day: Carlo Crivelli, Public domain, source
- Gävle goat: Sinikka Halme, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kraków szopka: user:cancre, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Koliada: Konstantin Trutovsky, Public domain, source
- Risalamande: Lorie Shaull, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Didukh: Bo&Ko, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Christmas cracker: en:User:Cgros841, Public domain, source
- Yule goat: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
- Christmas carol: Prathyush Thomas, GFDL 1.2, source
- Calabar Carnival: Raji kunle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Molybdomancy: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
- Papel picado: Ferfive, CC BY 4.0, source
- Mmanwu: Northcote Whitridge Thomas, Public domain, source
- Julebukking: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Botafumeiro: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez ( Lmbuga Commons )( Lmbuga Galipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mumming: Flemish illuminator Jehan de Grise and his workshop, 1338-1344, Public domain, source
- Christmas market: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree: Praneeth Thalla, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Moko Jumbie: COD Newsroom, CC BY 2.0, source
- Novena: Catedrales e Iglesias/Cathedrals and Churches, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nativity scene: Yvonne Bentele, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas Eve: Carl Larsson, Public domain, source