How many days until Christmas? Right now there are 58 days to go, and the clock above counts every second until December 25, which falls on Friday, December 25, 2026. Keep it open while you shop, wrap and bake, and you will always know how much time is left.
Why Christmas is on December 25
Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus. The Bible does not give a date, and the earliest record of Christians in Rome marking it on December 25 dates from the fourth century. Most Western churches and the majority of Americans celebrate on that date, and in church tradition the season runs from Advent, which begins four Sundays before Christmas, through the Twelve Days of Christmas that end with Epiphany on January 6. Some Orthodox churches that still follow the older Julian calendar celebrate on January 7 instead.
Many customs Americans love today came from different places: the decorated tree from Germany, Santa Claus from the Dutch Sinterklaas and the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, published in 1823, and Christmas cards from Victorian England.
Is Christmas a federal holiday?
Yes. Christmas Day has been a federal holiday since 1870. Federal offices, banks, schools, the post office and stock markets are closed, and most stores and many restaurants close too.
- If December 25 falls on a Saturday, federal workers get Friday, December 24, off.
- If it falls on a Sunday, the holiday is observed on Monday, December 26.
- Christmas Eve is not a federal holiday, though presidents sometimes grant the day off by executive order.
- In the UK, both Christmas Day and Boxing Day on December 26 are bank holidays.
Your holiday planning timeline
- Early November: make your gift list and set a budget.
- Black Friday and Cyber Monday: buy the big-ticket items on your list.
- First week of December: put up the tree and lights, and mail cards to friends abroad.
- Mid-December: check the shipping cutoff dates for carriers and online stores.
- The week before: buy groceries for the holiday meal and wrap the last presents.
Christmas traditions to try
- Advent calendars that count down the 24 days before Christmas.
- A family outing to see neighborhood light displays.
- Baking cookies and leaving a few out for Santa on Christmas Eve.
- Volunteering at a shelter or donating toys to a local drive.
- Watching a classic holiday movie under a blanket.
Count down together
Turn this page into a family Advent tradition: put it in full-screen mode on the living-room TV, share the link with grandparents who live far away, or add the date to your calendar. You can also create your own countdown for the office party or the moment you leave for the airport. Planning the evening before? Try our Christmas Eve countdown, then New Year’s Day is only a week later.