What is Christmas Eve?
Christmas Eve is the day and evening before Christmas. In much of Central, Eastern and Northern Europe it is the main event of the season rather than a prelude, with the family dinner, gift exchange and often a church service all taking place on the night of 24 December. Well-known examples include Wigilia in Poland, Štědrý den in the Czech Republic, Štedrý deň in Slovakia, Kūčios in Lithuania and the Christmas Eve celebrations of Finland and Estonia, where a Christmas figure visits children that evening. It is often the day when families gather, travel home and prepare the festive table, so it is one of the busiest travel days of the year in countries that observe it.
The religious background lies in the old way of counting a liturgical day from sunset, inherited from Jewish practice, so that a feast begins on the evening before. In many traditions the evening meal is meatless. In Poland the Wigilia supper begins when the first star appears, opens with the sharing of a thin wafer called opłatek, and often includes a place left empty at the table; carp is a common main dish, and some families serve twelve dishes. Public holiday status, where it exists, usually applies to the whole day, although some employers and shops allow work only until the afternoon.
Why it is observed
Christmas Eve belongs to the Christmas cycle that developed after 25 December became the established date for celebrating the birth of Christ in the fourth century. Because the Jewish and early Christian day was reckoned from sunset, a vigil held on the evening before a major feast became customary and the feast was understood to begin at that point. In many Catholic and Lutheran regions of Northern and Central Europe the evening itself later became the centre of family celebration, with the main meal and the gifts on 24 December, while in other countries, such as Britain, the focus stayed on Christmas morning.
How the date is set
Christmas Eve is fixed on 24 December, the day before Christmas Day. Its holiday status depends on the country, and in many places the main celebration begins in the evening.
How it is observed
Whether 24 December is a day off depends on the country. In the site's 2027 data it is a public holiday in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Poland and Vatican City, among others. Poland made it a statutory day off from 2025. In Finland it is not a statutory holiday but is treated as one in practice, and in several other countries, Austria and Sweden for example, banks, shops and many workplaces close for all or part of the day. Elsewhere, shops and offices close early and services wind down by the afternoon. Travellers should expect public transport to run on reduced schedules from midday and restaurants to be closed or fully booked. Pay and time off depend on national law, collective agreements and individual contracts.
Sources
Åland Islands
Bulgaria
Czechia
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
Latvia
Lithuania
Poland
Slovakia
Vatican City