When is Christmas Day?
In 2026, Christmas Day falls on Friday, December 25, 2026. It is classified here as a Greek public holiday.
History of Christmas Day
Christmas Day celebrates Christ’s Nativity on December 25 and is one of the compulsory holidays named by Article 60. The Church of Greece uses the Revised Julian calendar for fixed feasts, which currently coincides with the Gregorian civil date, so Greek Christmas is December 25 even though some Orthodox churches celebrate on Gregorian January 7. The distinction matters because ‘Orthodox Christmas’ is not one universal civil date. Greece’s Christmas season begins earlier with the Nativity fast and extends through New Year and Epiphany.
Families attend liturgy and gather for meals featuring regional meat dishes, pies and sweets such as melomakarona and kourabiedes. Children traditionally sing kalanta from house to house on Christmas Eve, accompanying carols with a triangle and receiving coins or treats. In island and maritime communities decorated boats remain a recognisable Greek seasonal symbol alongside Christmas trees. Public offices, banks and most covered undertakings close on December 25; the day is fixed without automatic substitution, and December 26 is separately compulsory under the same law.
How Christmas Day is observed
A compulsory nationwide public holiday fixed on December 25, followed by the separately compulsory Second Day of Christmas on December 26.
Traditions of Christmas Day
Christmas kalanta
Children sing traditional door-to-door carols with metal triangles on Christmas Eve and receive coins, sweets or household treats.
Melomakarona and kourabiedes
Households serve honey-soaked spiced biscuits and almond shortbread dusted with sugar throughout seasonal visits and festive family gatherings.
Decorated boats
Illuminated model or full-sized boats reflect Greece’s maritime heritage and appear beside increasingly common Christmas trees in seasonal displays.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Greek Ministry of Labour and government guidance. Collective agreements, regional arrangements and school schedules may differ from the general statutory rule.
History sources: Ministry of Labour and Social Security: compulsory public holidays, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese: Paschalion and feast calendar, Bank of Greece: holidays observed during 2026.
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