Christmas Eve

24 December 2026

Christmas Eve is 24 December, the day before Christmas Day. In the Christian year it is the last day of Advent and the beginning of the Christmas feast; in the United States it is mostly a family evening, and in many households the presents are opened after dinner rather than in the morning. In 2026 it falls on a Thursday.

Protestant churches increasingly hold candlelight services late on 24 December, and the service of lessons and carols, which began at the University of Cambridge, has spread widely. Catholic churches typically celebrate the first Christmas Mass at midnight. For a lot of families the evening meal is the main event, and the day itself is quieter than the night before it.

The day is not a federal holiday, so federal offices stay open. It is a state holiday in 11 states in 2026, according to timeanddate.com: Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. Everywhere else it is an ordinary working day, or a short one for anyone who can arrange it.

The evening carries most of the older customs. German and other European immigrants brought the Christmas tree, the candles and the habit of giving gifts on the night before, and the decorated tree was known in Strasbourg by 1605, hung with apples. In many American families the eve, not the morning, is when everyone gathers, and the meal is the point of the evening.

Christmas Day became a federal holiday in 1870, when Congress gave federal workers in the District of Columbia time off for Christmas, New Year’s Day, Independence Day and Thanksgiving. The eve was left out then and has stayed out. In 2026 the two days fall on a Thursday and a Friday, so the eve opens a long weekend for workplaces that close for Christmas.

Sources

Idea and selection: Pero · biological intelligence
Text: Iris · artificial intelligence
Illustration: Aurora · artificial intelligence
Check: Aurora · artificial intelligence