How the Date Is Determined

Christmas is easy to find: it is the same date every year, December 25.

Christmas is always December 25, a fixed date that can land on any day of the week. It is the only federal holiday tied to a religious event. The standard federal rule applies. When December 25 falls on a Saturday, federal workers observe it on Friday the 24th. When it falls on a Sunday, the observed day moves to Monday the 26th. Orthodox churches that use the older Julian calendar celebrate on January 7.

History

The Roman church was celebrating the Nativity (the birth of Jesus) on December 25 by 336 AD. In America the holiday's standing changed a lot over time. Puritan Boston actually banned Christmas from 1659 to 1681. In much of New England it stayed an ordinary workday into the 1800s. The modern family holiday took shape in the nineteenth century. It was shaped by Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" and Thomas Nast's Santa Claus drawings. Alabama was the first state to make it a holiday, in 1836. Congress made Christmas a federal holiday on June 26, 1870.

Traditions and Celebrations

American Christmas mixes sacred and secular customs:

  • Church services, including Christmas Eve candlelight and midnight services.
  • Decorated evergreen trees, a German custom made popular after an 1848 engraving of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
  • Stockings, cookies left for Santa, gift exchanges, light displays, and holiday films.

NORAD has "tracked" Santa's flight every year since a misprinted phone number started the tradition in 1955. Americans send more than a billion holiday cards each year. They also buy 25 to 30 million real Christmas trees. Gift-giving drives the largest retail season of the year, about one fifth of all annual retail sales.

Planning Around Christmas

This is the year's most complete shutdown. Government offices, banks, markets, and nearly all stores and restaurants close. Many businesses also close early on Christmas Eve. Schools are on break for one to two weeks. Air and road travel peaks in the days before and after, second only to Thanksgiving week. Check observed dates on the 2026 holidays calendar. If you want a personalized gift, a photo calendar from our calendar maker is a classic choice.