Christmas Day

Christmas Day is a special official holiday for Iraq’s Christian communities under Article 2 of the Official Holiday Law. Iraq’s Christian heritage is ancient and diverse, encompassing Chaldean Catholic, Syriac Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, Assyrian Church of the East, Armenian and other communities whose languages, liturgies and local histories have shaped the country for centuries.

The day is centred on church worship, family meals, decorations and acts of hospitality. The legal category matters: it recognises a holiday in addition to the general public calendar, rather than presenting every Iraqi Christian community as if it kept one identical schedule. Local diocesan notices remain the best guide for liturgical dates and practical arrangements.

Article 2 of Law No. 12 of 2024 makes December 25 a special holiday for Christian citizens, not automatically a nationwide day off for every worker. Iraq’s Council of Ministers may use its separate power to declare a temporary general closure; it did so for Christmas 2025, and the Central Bank lists December 25 in its 2026 operational calendar. Those decisions should not erase the legal distinction or be projected into later years without confirmation. Displacement and violence have changed the size and geography of Iraq’s Christian communities, making local church and security guidance especially important.