When is Christmas Eve 2025?
Christmas Eve 2025 falls on Wednesday, December 24, 2025. It was 244 days ago.
Christmas Eve is December 24 every year. It is not a federal public holiday. Christmas Day, December 25, is the legal holiday. Some private employers close early on the 24th; that is not a statutory closure.
The anticipation night — church services, last-minute wrapping, workplaces that let people leave at noon. The paid federal day off comes on the 25th; the 24th is when the house fills up and the cookies go out.
What typically stops
National picture for four named services. A local branch, a retailer or a private employer can still differ — this is not a store-by-store matrix.
| Service | Typically | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Banks (Federal Reserve) | Open — Typically open. Some private employers close early — that is not a legal closure. | Federal Reserve Banks — Holiday Schedule (K.8) |
| USPS | Open — Typically regular delivery. Christmas Day is the postal holiday, not the Eve. | USPS Employee and Labor Relations Manual — Holiday Leave (518) |
| Fedwire | Open — Typically operates. | Federal Reserve Banks — Holiday Schedule (K.8) |
| NYSE | Open — Typically a full session. Early closes, when they happen, are announced on the exchange calendar. | NYSE — Trading Hours and Holiday Calendar |
Print and calendar feed
- Printable calendar for this month
- This date is not a federal holiday, so it is not in the federal .ics feed. Subscribe to federal holidays
Is Christmas Eve a public holiday?
No. 5 U.S.C. § 6103 lists Christmas Day, December 25, not Christmas Eve. Federal offices typically stay open on December 24 when it falls on a weekday, unless a president grants an extra day off by executive action — which is discretionary and not part of the statute.
USPS regular mail typically runs on Christmas Eve and does not run on Christmas Day.
What day is Christmas Eve?
The date is fixed to December 24. When December 25 is a Saturday, the federal observed holiday for Christmas Day is Friday the 24th — that is Christmas Day being observed, not Christmas Eve becoming a holiday in its own right.
How it relates to Christmas Day
The legal public holiday is Christmas Day. This page exists because people search for the Eve as its own date. Closures, mail and the exchange calendar for the 25th are on the Christmas Day page.
Christmas Eve dates, 2020–2030
| Year | Weekday | Date | Observed | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Thursday | December 24, 2020 | — | Not A Public Holiday |
| 2021 | Friday | December 24, 2021 | — | Not A Public Holiday |
| 2022 | Saturday | December 24, 2022 | — | Not A Public Holiday |
| 2023 | Sunday | December 24, 2023 | — | Not A Public Holiday |
| 2024 | Tuesday | December 24, 2024 | — | Not A Public Holiday |
| 2025 | Wednesday | December 24, 2025 | — | Not A Public Holiday |
| 2026 | Thursday | December 24, 2026 | — | Not A Public Holiday |
| 2027 | Friday | December 24, 2027 | — | Not A Public Holiday |
| 2028 | Sunday | December 24, 2028 | — | Not A Public Holiday |
| 2029 | Monday | December 24, 2029 | — | Not A Public Holiday |
| 2030 | Tuesday | December 24, 2030 | — | Not A Public Holiday |
Every date above is calculated from the rule — december 24, every year — rather than transcribed year by year, which removes the commonest source of error on calendar sites.
Other names and languages
- Spanish
- Nochebuena
Legal basis and sources
5 U.S.C. § 6103(a) lists “Christmas Day, December 25,” not December 24. Christmas Eve is not a legal public holiday. 5 U.S.C. § 6103
- 5 U.S.C. § 6103, Legal Information Institute — verified August 22, 2026
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management — Federal Holidays — verified August 22, 2026
- USPS Employee and Labor Relations Manual — Holiday Leave (518) — verified August 22, 2026