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Christmas Day guide
Christmas plans for 25 December and beyond.
In short
This guide is for anyone travelling over the festive season, whether for church services, family meals or city lights. Western churches keep 25 December, while churches on the Julian calendar celebrate on 7 January. Flights in the days before Christmas and the homeward rush in early January fill quickly, so book transport, rooms and a restaurant table early.
Christmas marks the birth of Jesus for Western churches and many Eastern ones, and it has become the biggest holiday of the year across much of the world. Plenty of people who never set foot in a church keep it too, as a time for family meals, presents and a tree strung with lights.
Few holidays have travelled so far from their religious roots, or collected so many local habits on the way. The same day can mean a candlelit Mass in Bethlehem, a market square in Bavaria or a hotel buffet in Doha.
That variety is what makes it worth planning a trip around. Spend the season somewhere new and you see how a familiar feast looks through another country's eyes.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Held: Every year
Type of event: Cultural Events, Religious Festivals, Community Events
Next edition starts in
42days
0hrs
4min
Map
Close to the venue
- Griffith Observatory Attraction · 9 km
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Attending a Christmas church service as a visitor
Churches welcome visitors at Christmas, believers or not, but these are services, so behave as at any act of worship. Midnight Mass and the morning services on the 25th are the busiest of the year, so arrive in good time if you want a seat.
- Dress neatly. Cover shoulders in Catholic and Orthodox churches.
- Silence your phone completely, and keep photography for before or after the service.
- Stand and sit with the congregation. Nobody expects you to take communion, and you can stay in your seat while others go forward.
- Leave large bags at the hotel. Pews are tight on the busiest nights.
Shops, museums and restaurants that close on 25 December
Shops, museums and plenty of restaurants close for the day across the Western world. Get what you need a day or two ahead, or first thing on the 24th: medicines, snacks, water and any cash you might want.
If your hotel does not serve meals, book a restaurant that is open, and confirm a few days before. Supermarkets on the 24th are packed, so go early. Museums and attractions publish holiday hours in advance. Check them before planning a day around a visit and again in the days that follow.
Fire safety with trees, candles and fireplaces in a rental
A real tree, candles and an open fire are part of the charm of a rented cabin or apartment at Christmas. They are also the commonest causes of house fires over the holiday.
- Water a cut tree every day, and keep it away from radiators and the fireplace.
- Unplug tree lights when you go out or go to bed.
- Never leave candles burning in an empty room.
- In snowy places, ask the owner whether the chimney has been swept before you light a fire, and keep paths clear of ice.
- Save the local emergency number in your phone when you arrive.
Where and how it is celebrated
The main cities where the festival is celebrated.
What happens on the day
- 24 December, afternoon
Markets close
Most German and Austrian markets shut at lunchtime or early afternoon on Christmas Eve, and shops follow.
- 24 December, evening
Christmas Eve
In Germany, Poland and much of central Europe this is the main night, with dinner and presents. In Italy and Poland the meal is meatless, often fish.
- Midnight
Midnight Mass
Churches fill for the night service, many with people who rarely come at other times. Some now hold it earlier in the evening.
- 25 December, morning
Services, then quiet
Morning services are followed by the family lunch, which runs well into the afternoon. Museums, shops and many restaurants close, and public transport runs a reduced service.
- 26 December
Boxing Day or St Stephen's Day
A public holiday in Britain, Ireland, Germany, Austria and much of Europe, and the start of the winter sales in many countries.
Etiquette and dress
Church dress
St Peter's and other major churches expect covered shoulders and knees; at the Vatican, guards turn people away at the door.
At a service
Arrive early, as seats go well before the start. Phones on silent, no flash, and wait for the end of the service to take photos.
Gifts and invitations
If you are invited to a family meal, bring something small for the table, such as wine, chocolates or flowers.
When to book Christmas flights, hotels and restaurant tables
Christmas travel rewards the early. Flights from about 20 to 24 December, and the homeward rush around 2 January, are among the most crowded of the year, and fares climb to match. Book in autumn and you choose. Book in mid-December and you take what is left.
Decide early which part of the season you are travelling for. If it is markets and lights, the first three weeks of December give you more than the holiday itself, with lower prices and shorter queues. If it is the day, with a church service, a long lunch and a walk through quiet streets, pick a hotel that serves a proper Christmas meal, and reserve the table when you book the room. Festive dinners sell out well before the rooms do.
Plenty of travellers carry the trip on into January. A second week somewhere else is easy to tack on, but buy both legs together. Seats on the return around 2 January go fast, and leaving it late can mean the most expensive ticket of your year.
The Nativity story and how Christmas traditions spread
The Gospel story behind the day is simple. Mary and Joseph travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger. Angels announced the birth to shepherds, and the Magi followed a star with gifts of gold and frankincense. Believers see in it the incarnation: God taking on a human life.
Nobody knows the real date. The first surviving text to put the birth on that date is the Chronograph of 354, in a passage composed in Rome around 336.
Most of the customs are much younger than the feast. Evergreen branches, garlands and wreaths decorated homes long before Christianity. German Lutherans began bringing whole trees indoors in the 16th century, well before glass baubles existed. The table changes with the border. Britain and North America roast a turkey, Italy and Poland serve fish on Christmas Eve, and the markets of Germany and Austria pour mulled wine all month.
Public transport on Christmas Day and how to plan around it
Check timetables before the 25th, not on it. In much of Europe and North America, trains, buses and metros run reduced services on Christmas Day, and some lines stop altogether. Arrange airport transfers in advance and do not count on hailing a ride late on Christmas Eve.
The destination shapes the trip. Bethlehem, in the West Bank, draws pilgrims to the place tradition gives for the Nativity. Finnish Lapland, up in the Arctic Circle, builds a whole snowbound fantasy around the season and makes the obvious choice for families with young children. New York goes all out on lights. Amsterdam starts dressing its streets in early December, so a weekend there before the holiday works as well as the day itself.
Qatar and the UAE mark Christmas too. Their hotels and malls put up decorations and serve Christmas dinners for expatriate residents, a welcome option if you are working in the Gulf or passing through on a long layover.
Getting there
Rome and the Vatican
Fly into Rome Fiumicino; the Leonardo Express train reaches Termini in about half an hour, and metro line A runs on to Ottaviano, a short walk from St Peter's.
German and Austrian markets
Nuremberg, Dresden and Vienna are all on fast rail lines; a rail pass or advance tickets let you see two or three markets in one trip.
Strasbourg
High-speed TGV trains from Paris take under two hours, and the station is a walk from the old town.
Getting there from Asia
Gulf connections are the easiest way to Europe over the holidays: see Bangkok to Dubai flights. Book early, as seats from 20 to 24 December go fast.
Where to stay during the festival
Market towns fill on December weekends, so book midweek if you can and stay inside the old town, where the stalls are a walk away.
In Rome, rooms near the Vatican go first for Christmas week; a hotel near a metro line A station is a good alternative.
Rome
Hotel Artemide4-star hotel
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- Airport shuttle
- Fitness center
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Weather and what to pack
December in central Europe is cold and often grey, with temperatures around freezing in Nuremberg, Dresden and Vienna and snow possible. Rome is milder but can be wet.
Worth packing
- A warm coat, hat, scarf and gloves
- Waterproof shoes for wet cobbles
- Clothes that cover shoulders and knees for church visits
- Cash for market stalls; some take cards, many do not
- A tote bag for the mug deposit you keep from mulled-wine stands
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Timing & weather
The church in Rome was keeping the feast on that date by 336, under the emperor Constantine. Some historians think the choice was meant to draw people away from established pagan festivals at the same time of year, though nobody can prove it.
In the church calendar Christmastide runs from the 25th to Epiphany on 6 January, the feast of the Magi. For many families the holiday is not over until that date.
General
No. Churches on the Julian calendar celebrate on 7 January, and the Armenian church keeps 6 January. In Lebanon both 25 December and 6 January are official holidays, the second for its Armenian community.
It is the Greek letter chi, the first letter of Christ's name in Greek. Xmas is simply a written shorthand for Christmas, not a modern attempt to take Christ out of the holiday.
It joins Christ and Mass, meaning the Mass of Christ: the church service held to celebrate his birth. The name points straight back to the services that are still the centre of the day for believers.
The church season of preparation for Christmas. It opens four Sundays before the 25th, so its first day moves around from year to year, and many towns switch on their lights at about the same time.
Fruit and nuts. German Lutherans who brought trees indoors in the 16th century hung them with food, long before glitter and shop-bought ornaments took over. Evergreen branches and wreaths had decorated homes for centuries before that.
A Christian saint whose feast falls on 6 December, three weeks before Christmas. The custom of giving presents at Christmas owes something to his feast, and Santa Claus takes his name from him.
Older pictures show him in purple, green or blue. Red suits were already common by the early 1900s, and Coca-Cola's adverts from 1931 fixed the look worldwide. The modern Santa is largely an American creation.
In many it is, including India, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. In Japan it is an ordinary working day, though Christmas Eve is a popular night out for couples.
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