A UK holiday countdown
Christmas is getting closer.
Christmas Day marks the Christian celebration of Jesus's birth and is also a much loved holiday. The countdown is on to 25th December.
Dates for 2026 to 2028 are listed below
Christmas Day
Christmas Day is preceded by Christmas Eve on 24 December. Traditions differ between families and countries, blending religious celebrations with seasonal gatherings.
About Christmas
Christmas was first recorded as a Roman church festival in the fourth century, and its later customs gathered from many sources. The decorated tree came from Germany and spread in Britain after Queen Victoria's household adopted it. The first commercial Christmas card was produced in London in 1843, while crackers, carol services and midnight Mass remain popular ways of marking the season.
When is Christmas?
Christmas Day is a fixed date, 25 December, in every region listed, although some Orthodox churches that follow the Julian calendar celebrate on 7 January instead.
| Calendar | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All calendars | Friday 25 December 2026 | Saturday 25 December 2027 | Monday 25 December 2028 |
Planning around Christmas
Book supermarket delivery slots and check final posting dates in early December, and remember that public transport is usually very limited or absent on Christmas Day itself. Work out shifts and childcare cover with the free shift planner, or browse every holiday countdown.
Christmas questions
How many days until Christmas?
The live counter at the top of this page shows the days, hours, minutes and seconds left until the next Christmas, using the time zone you choose. The dates for 2026 to 2028 are in the table above.
When is Christmas in 2027?
Christmas falls on Saturday 25 December 2027 in the United Kingdom.
Why is Christmas celebrated on 25 December?
The Gospels do not give a birth date for Jesus. The Church in Rome was marking 25 December by the fourth century, and the date then spread across Western Christianity and eventually into many secular traditions.