U.S. observance
How Many Days Until Christmas Eve 2026?
Today: · Eastern Time (America/New_York)
Calendar days until Christmas Eve
61 days until Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is on Thursday, December 24, 2026.
Live countdown to midnight on December 24, 2026
60 days, 18 hours, 27 minutes, 56 seconds remaining
Eastern Time (America/New_York). Countdown days are 24 hours; the calendar-day count above uses local dates.
- Calendar days (signed)
- 61
- Full weeks + days
- 8 weeks + 5 days
- Calendar months + days
- 2 months + 0 days
- Years, months, days
- 0 years, 2 months, 0 days
- Weekdays counted
- 44
- Weekend days counted
- 17
- U.S. business days
- 42
- Observed holiday dates skipped
- 2
What is Christmas Eve?
Christmas Eve, December 24, is the evening before Christmas Day and, for many families, the main celebration. It is not a federal holiday, though many businesses close early and presidents have sometimes given federal employees the day off.
History of Christmas Eve
In Christian tradition the day begins the Christmas season, and the custom of a midnight Mass dates back many centuries. Immigrant communities brought their own Christmas Eve customs to America, such as the Italian American Feast of the Seven Fishes and the Polish Wigilia supper.
Christmas Eve today
Families gather for dinner, open some gifts, attend candlelight or midnight services and leave cookies out for Santa Claus. NORAD and its predecessor have tracked Santa's flight since 1955, a tradition that began with a misprinted phone number in a department store ad.
Date details
- Category
- U.S. observance
- How the date is set
- Same date every year
- Country / region
- United States
- Actual event date
Day before the actual Christmas date. Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Event date facts
- Weekday
- Thursday
- ISO week / year
- 52 / 2026
- Day of year
- 358
- Quarter
- 4
- Days left in year
- 7
- Leap year
- No
December 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | ||||||
Event dates by year
| Rule year | Actual date | Observed federal closure | Certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wednesday, December 24, 2025 | — | Same date every year |
| 2026 | Thursday, December 24, 2026 | — | Same date every year |
| 2027 | Friday, December 24, 2027 | — | Same date every year |
| 2028 | Sunday, December 24, 2028 | — | Same date every year |
| 2029 | Monday, December 24, 2029 | — | Same date every year |
Quick answers
- What day of the week is December 24, 2026?
- December 24, 2026 is a Thursday.
- Is Christmas Eve a federal holiday?
- No. Christmas Eve is not a U.S. federal holiday, so federal offices and most businesses stay open.
- What week of the year is December 24, 2026?
- December 24, 2026 is in ISO week 52 of 2026 and is day 358 of the year.
How the Christmas Eve date is calculated
- Christmas Eve is on December 24 every year. In 2026 that is a Thursday.
- The countdown counts calendar days from today to December 24, 2026. The start date is excluded and the end date is included. Dates use Eastern Time (America/New_York).
- The live countdown runs to midnight at the start of December 24, 2026 in Eastern Time (America/New_York). A countdown day is 24 hours, so a daylight-saving change can make it differ from the calendar-day count by an hour.
- Calculated at 6:32 AM on October 24, 2026.
- U.S. business days exclude Saturday, Sunday and observed nationwide federal closures; individual employer and state schedules are not included.