When is Christmas Day?
In 2026, Christmas Day falls on Friday, December 25, 2026. It is classified here as a Maltese public holiday.
History of Christmas Day
Christmas Day is one of the central holidays of Malta’s year. Catholic worship, family meals and the strong local tradition of the presepju—Christmas crib scenes—give the day a particular Maltese character alongside familiar international customs such as gift-giving and lights.
The Government lists Christmas as a paid public holiday, and public life slows considerably. Yet Christmas on the islands is not confined to private homes: parish churches, community displays and decorated town centres give the season a public presence. For visitors, the best experience is often to combine a quiet Christmas Day with crib exhibitions and village lights in the surrounding weeks.
Maltese Christmas culture includes the priedka tat-tifel, a sermon delivered by a child during Midnight Mass, and processions with a statue of the infant Jesus organised in some communities. Crib building ranges from family displays to mechanically animated exhibitions, preserving craftsmanship alongside religious devotion.
Christmas Day remains on its named calendar date. Under Malta’s current employment rules, when a national or public holiday falls on Saturday, Sunday or another weekly rest day, an equivalent day is added to the employee’s annual vacation-leave entitlement rather than the holiday being universally moved to Monday.
How Christmas Day is observed
A nationwide paid public holiday on December 25. Public offices and many businesses close; transport and hospitality services use special schedules.
Traditions of Christmas Day
Presepju displays
Homes, churches and community groups create elaborate nativity scenes and crib exhibitions. The exact form remains locally organised within Malta or Gozo.
Christmas Mass
Families attend church services on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The exact form remains locally organised within Malta or Gozo.
Family lunch
Long festive meals bring together relatives, often followed by visits and sweets. The exact form remains locally organised within Malta or Gozo.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Malta government and employment-guidance sources. Public-office, school and private-employer schedules may differ from statutory public-holiday treatment.
History sources: Government of Malta: public holidays, Department for Industrial and Employment Relations: national and public holidays, Department for Industrial and Employment Relations: vacation leave and weekend-holiday entitlement.
Continue exploring