What Christmas is

The Christian feast of the Nativity, fixed at 25 December since the fourth century and now a public holiday in more than 160 countries, religious observance and secular custom sitting side by side.

Churches hold services on the eve and the morning; most of the rest of the day belongs to family meals and gifts.

Why this date does not move

The countdown at the top of this page is live, and the date beneath it is the next occurrence. This is a fixed date: it falls on the same day of the month every year, so only the weekday changes.

The date follows a fixed calendar rule, so it can be computed years ahead. Where a country observes this as a public holiday, the official government calendar remains the authority for whether the day off is moved when it falls on a weekend.

What is coming up next

Once this date passes, the countdown moves on according to the recurrence rule described above. Calculated lunar dates remain estimates until the relevant calendar or local authority confirms them. See the full list of upcoming events, or use the countdown timer for a duration of your own.