Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is the vigil before Christmas Day in Christian tradition. Churches developed services leading into the celebration of Jesus’ birth, while families across Europe formed their own evening meals, gift customs and seasonal rituals. Immigrants brought many of these practices to the United States.

American Christmas Eve traditions vary widely by ancestry, denomination and household. Some families treat the evening as the main celebration; others prepare quietly for December 25. It is not a federal holiday, although employers may close early and federal offices can be affected by an occasional executive order.

The familiar American image of Santa arriving during the night was shaped by nineteenth-century poems, illustrations and publishing. Clement Clarke Moore’s attributed poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” first printed anonymously in 1823, described a sleigh, reindeer and a nighttime visit that influenced later depictions. Yet Christmas Eve remains highly plural: Las Posadas, Nochebuena meals, Réveillon, the Feast of the Seven Fishes and church vigils reflect different family, regional and immigrant histories.