Next: 24 Dec 2026
Christmas Eve
The big family evening in much of the world: Wigilia in Poland, Julafton in Sweden, Nochebuena in Spain and Latin America.
When is Christmas Eve in 2026?
Christmas Eve 2026 is on Thursday, 24 December 2026. Other years: 2027, Friday, 24 December 2027; 2028, Sunday, 24 December 2028.
About Christmas Eve
In large parts of Europe and Latin America, the main Christmas celebration takes place on the evening of 24 December. In Poland, Wigilia begins when the first star appears, with a place at the table left empty for an unexpected guest, wafers, opłatek, shared with wishes, and twelve meatless dishes including carp, beet barszcz soup with mushroom dumplings, and poppy-seed cake. In Sweden, the julbord table is laid with ham, herring, meatballs and rice pudding with an almond, and Donald Duck is watched on television at 3 p.m. In Spain and Latin America, Nochebuena brings a late family meal, church at midnight, the Misa del Gallo, and in Italy, the Feast of Seven Fishes is traditional in many families. Presents are often opened that night.
Christmas Eve dates: 2026, 2027, 2028
| Year | Christmas Eve date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Thursday, 24 December 2026 |
| 2027 | Friday, 24 December 2027 |
| 2028 | Sunday, 24 December 2028 |
What is eaten
- carp
- barszcz
- pierogi
- ham
- bacalao
- tamales
- roast pork
Traditions of Christmas Eve
Also part of it, and being written: Julbord (The Swedish Christmas table.), Nochebuena (The Spanish and Latin American evening.).
More marked on Christmas Eve
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 4 moreChristmas
A festival of Jesus's birth, kept on 25 December with gifts, lights and shared mealsFestival
🇵🇱 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 5 moreChristmas carol
Festive songs and hymns sung during the Christmas season and door to doorPerformance
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreAdventadventus
A four-week Christian season of waiting and preparation for Christmas and the Second Coming.Festival
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreAdvent calendarAdventskalender
A daily countdown to Christmas using doors, images, or small gifts.Festival
🇩🇪 Hamburg, Germany and 2 moreAdvent wreathAdventskranz
An evergreen ring of candles lit week by week in the lead-up to ChristmasSeasonal
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreYule log
A log kept burning on the hearth through the twelve days of Christmas, for luckSeasonal
🇩🇪 Nuremberg, Germany and 5 moreChristkind
The traditional Christmas Eve gift-bringer across Central Europe and Latin AmericaFestival
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreMidnight MassMissa in nocte
The first service of Christmas, kept late on Christmas Eve in many Western churchesSpiritual
🇩🇰 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
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 1 moreDidukhдідух
A wheat sheaf kept at Christmas to honour ancestors and pray for a bountiful harvestHome
🇲🇽 Mexico and 7 moreLas Posadas
A nine-night Christmas pageant remembering Mary and Joseph seeking shelterSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇪 SwedenJul
A midwinter holiday of feast tables, doorstep gift givers, and candlelit morningsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreRéveillon
A luxurious late-night feast that stretches until dawn across the winter holidaysTable custom · Dinner
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreSerbian ChristmasБожић
A three-day midwinter observance focused on oak logs, floor straw and family gatheringsSpiritual · Dinner
🇳🇴 NorwayJul
An eight-week Norwegian midwinter season of feasts, family gatherings, and gift-givingSeasonal · Lunch
🇫🇮 FinlandChristmas in Finlandjoulu
A quiet midwinter festival of saunas, grave candles and table casseroles across FinlandSeasonal · Dinner
🇮🇸 IcelandYule LadsJólasveinarnir
Thirteen mischievous brothers who visit Icelandic homes in the nights leading to Yule.Folklore
🇩🇰 DenmarkJul
Winter feasts, carols around the tree, and family gatherings across DenmarkFestival · Lunch
🇨🇺 Remedios, CubaParrandas
Central Cuban street festivals featuring district rumba music, floats and fireworksFestival
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreColindă
A Romanian and Moldovan Christmas carol tradition where village groups sing Nativity songs door to door.Festival
🇪🇸 SpainOlentzero
A Basque Christmas tradition of a charcoal burner bringing presents in midwinterFestival
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Christmas Eve" 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: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Public domain, source
- Advent calendar: Andrea Schaufler, CC BY 2.5, source
- Advent wreath: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY 4.0, source
- Christkind: Roland Berger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Koliada: Konstantin Trutovsky, Public domain, source
- Jul: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Risalamande: Lorie Shaull, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Didukh: Bo&Ko, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Las Posadas: Yavidaxiu, CC BY 3.0, source
- Christmas in Finland: Uploaded by Sigketill, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yule Lads: Lusinemarg, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jul: Erik Christensen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Parrandas: Juan ramon colina, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Colindă: Post of Moldova, Public domain, source
- Olentzero: Josu Goñi Etxabe, Public domain, source
- Serbian Christmas: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Feast of the Seven Fishes: GW Fins, CC BY 2.0, source
- Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
- Christmas carol: Prathyush Thomas, GFDL 1.2, source
- Midnight Mass: Atleett, CC0, source
- Advent: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wigilia: Przykuta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source