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Christmas Eve

Religious · Seasonal · December 24

Christmas Eve is the evening before Christmas, marked with church services, family meals, candlelight and the last quiet hours of waiting.

Christmas Eve falls on Thursday, December 24, 2026. That is 58 days away.

Christmas Eve is the evening before Christmas. For Christians it marks the night before the celebration of the birth of Jesus, and for many other households it is simply the night the holiday really begins.

The mood is different from the day that follows. Christmas morning tends to be loud and full of wrapping paper. The night before is often slower, with dim rooms, tree lights and a kitchen that smells like something is still in the oven.

Many churches hold evening services, and some hold a midnight Mass or late service. Candlelight services are common, where the congregation passes a flame from one small candle to the next and sings in the dark. People who do not attend church often keep their own rituals, like driving through neighborhoods to look at lights or reading a favorite story aloud.

Food carries a lot of the tradition. Some families keep a meal that comes from where their grandparents grew up, such as a fish dinner in Italian American homes or tamales in many Mexican American households. Others settle for soup and whatever cookies survived the week.

In homes with children, the evening has its own logistics. Stockings get hung, a plate of cookies goes out for Santa Claus, and adults stay up later than planned assembling something with too many screws.

The last task of the night is usually the same everywhere: turning off the tree lights and going to bed.

Ways to celebrate

• Attend a local candlelight service or carol sing.
• Cook a family recipe that only appears on this night.
• Drive or walk through a neighborhood to see the lights.
• Read a holiday story aloud before bed.
• Leave out cookies and milk with children.

Dates

All national days on December 24

Also on December 24

• National Eggnog Day
• Feast of the Seven Fishes
• Last-Minute Shopper's Day

Categories: Religious daysSeasonal days