Christmas Countdown

Live countdown to Christmas Eve & Christmas Day in your timezone

Christmas Eve
December 24, 2025
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Christmas Day
December 25, 2025
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🌏 When Does Christmas Begin?

The first places to celebrate Christmas are in the Pacific — the world celebrates west from there.

🎅 When Does Santa Arrive?

Santa follows the night westward — starting in the Pacific and ending in the Americas.

Christmas By the Numbers

The scale of the world's most celebrated holiday

2 billion+
People celebrate Christmas worldwide, making it the most widely observed holiday on the planet.
195
Countries with Christmas celebrations — from the Americas to Australasia and beyond.
26 hours
Estimated time for Santa's global route, helped by the Earth's rotation and time zones.
160+
Countries where Christmas Day is an official public holiday.
1.76 billion
Sheets of gift wrap used in the US alone each Christmas season.
400,000+
Tonnes of food wasted globally during the Christmas period each year.

🌍 Christmas Traditions

How the world celebrates — unique customs from every corner of the globe

🇬🇧 United Kingdom
  • Christmas crackers pulled at the dinner table, containing a joke, paper crown, and small gift
  • The King's Speech broadcast on Christmas Day at 3pm
  • Boxing Day (December 26) is a public holiday with sporting events and sales
🇩🇪 Germany & Austria
  • Christmas Eve (Heiligabend) is the main celebration, not Christmas Day
  • Advent calendars and Advent wreaths with four candles are widely used
  • Lebkuchen (gingerbread) and Stollen (fruit bread) are traditional foods
🇫🇷 France & 🇮🇹 Italy
  • Reveillon — a lavish late-night feast on Christmas Eve after midnight mass
  • Italy features the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve
  • La Befana (Italy) — a witch-like figure delivers gifts to children on January 6
🇯🇵 Japan
  • KFC fried chicken is a hugely popular Christmas Eve meal, thanks to a 1974 marketing campaign
  • Christmas Eve is treated as a romantic date night rather than a family event
  • Christmas cakes — white sponge cakes with strawberries — are a seasonal staple
🇦🇺 Australia & 🇳🇿 New Zealand
  • Christmas falls in summer, so beach barbecues and outdoor celebrations are common
  • Carols by Candlelight concerts are a beloved tradition
  • Pavlova — a meringue dessert — is a popular Christmas treat
🇺🇸 USA
  • Elaborate outdoor Christmas light displays are a competitive neighbourhood tradition
  • Eggnog (a spiced milk and egg drink) is a seasonal favourite
  • Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade kicks off the Christmas season
🇸🇪 Scandinavia
  • Sweden's Julafton (Christmas Eve) features the Donald Duck TV special, watched by millions annually
  • St Lucia Day (December 13) opens the Christmas season with candlelit processions
  • Traditional Julbord (Christmas buffet) with herring, meatballs, and rice pudding
🇷🇺 Russia & Eastern Europe
  • Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7 (Julian calendar), with Christmas Eve on January 6
  • Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) and Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) deliver gifts on New Year's Eve
  • Kutia — a sweet wheat berry porridge — is a traditional Christmas Eve dish

💡 Did You Know?

Surprising facts about Christmas history and traditions

🌲
Christmas trees originated in Germany

In the 16th century, Germans brought decorated evergreen trees indoors during winter. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg popularised the tradition in Britain in the 1840s.

🎵
"Jingle Bells" was written for Thanksgiving

Composed in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont, originally titled "The One Horse Open Sleigh" — it was written for a Thanksgiving celebration, not Christmas.

🥤
Santa's red suit was popularised by Coca-Cola

While Saint Nicholas was traditionally depicted in red, Haddon Sundblom's Coca-Cola illustrations from 1931 standardised the jolly, red-suited Santa we know today.

🎁
Christmas crackers invented in London, 1847

Confectioner Tom Smith was inspired by French bon-bons. He added a bang to the packaging, which evolved into the modern cracker with its snap, hat, and joke.

✝️
The 'X' in Xmas is from Greek

'X' is the Greek letter Chi (X), the first letter of Christos (Christ). Using X as an abbreviation for Christ dates back to at least the 15th century and is not disrespectful.

🦌
Rudolph was created for a marketing campaign

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was invented by Robert L. May in 1939 for a Montgomery Ward retail promotion — the store gave away 2.4 million copies of the story that first year.

🕯️
Christmas was banned in England

From 1647 to 1660, the Puritan Parliament under Oliver Cromwell abolished Christmas, viewing it as a heathen festival. It was restored when King Charles II returned to the throne.

🌟
December 25 was established in the 4th century

The date was formally set by the Western church around the 4th century AD. The actual birth date of Jesus is unknown; many scholars suggest it may have been in spring or autumn.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you want to know about Christmas

Christmas Day 2025 is on Thursday, December 25, 2025. Christmas Eve is Wednesday, December 24, 2025.
Christmas Day 2026 falls on Friday, December 25, 2026. Christmas Eve is Thursday, December 24, 2026.
The exact count depends on your timezone and today's date. The live countdown at the top of this page shows the precise number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds until Christmas in your local timezone.
Christmas begins at midnight local time in each timezone. The first places are Pacific islands (UTC+14), then New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Korea. Western Europe celebrates around 11-13 hours before the Americas. The World Clock section above shows exactly when Christmas begins in 14 major cities.
December 25 was formally established by the Western Christian church in the 4th century AD. The date may have been chosen to coincide with existing Roman winter solstice festivals (Saturnalia and Sol Invictus). The actual birth date of Jesus is not recorded in scripture.
It depends on the country. In Germany, Scandinavia, and much of Eastern Europe, Christmas Eve is the primary event. In the UK, USA, Australia, and Canada, Christmas Day is traditionally the main day, though Christmas Eve celebrations are widespread everywhere.
The Christmas tree tradition originated in Germany in the 16th century. Germans decorated evergreen trees indoors during winter as a symbol of life. Prince Albert (husband of Queen Victoria) brought the tradition to Britain in the 1840s, and it spread globally from there.
Santa Claus is rooted in Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian bishop from Myra (modern Turkey) famous for secret gift-giving. Dutch settlers brought the tradition of Sinterklaas to America. Over centuries it blended with folklore, British Father Christmas traditions, and Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 poem to create the modern Santa.
Countries where Christmas is not an official public holiday include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, and several other Muslim-majority nations. Some Central Asian and North African countries also don't officially observe it. However, even in many of these places, some residents celebrate privately.
Spanish: Feliz Navidad — French: Joyeux Noel — German: Frohe Weihnachten — Italian: Buon Natale — Portuguese: Feliz Natal — Russian: S Rozhdestvom — Japanese: Merii Kurisumasu — Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka. See all 25 languages in the section below.
Boxing Day is a public holiday on December 26, observed in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other Commonwealth countries. Its origin may relate to the tradition of giving boxes of gifts to servants and trades-people. Today it is associated with shopping sales, sporting events, and family time.
Gift-giving combines several traditions: the Three Magi bringing gifts to Jesus; the Roman festival of Saturnalia (which included gift-giving); the legend of Saint Nicholas secretly helping the poor; and 19th-century commercial influences. The tradition became widespread in the Victorian era.
The 12 days of Christmas run from Christmas Day (December 25) through January 5, ending on the eve of Epiphany (January 6). In Christian tradition, this period celebrates the Magi's visit to Jesus. The famous cumulative song lists gifts for each day, ending with twelve drummers drumming.
The earliest recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome in AD 336, during the reign of Emperor Constantine I. The Western church formalised December 25 as the date shortly thereafter. Eastern Orthodox churches originally celebrated on January 6 (Epiphany), and some still use the Julian calendar date of January 7.
Advent is the four-week period of preparation before Christmas, starting on the Sunday nearest November 30 (St Andrew's Day). It is observed with Advent calendars, Advent wreaths (with four candles lit progressively each Sunday), and special church services. The word Advent comes from the Latin adventus meaning arrival or coming.
The tradition comes from the legend of Saint Nicholas, who allegedly tossed bags of gold through a window to help a poor family — and the gold landed in stockings left by the fireplace to dry. Over time, children began hanging stockings by the chimney, hoping Santa would fill them with gifts and sweets.
Mistletoe has been considered a sacred plant since pre-Christian times by the Druids and Norse peoples. In Norse mythology, it was associated with love and peace. The tradition of kissing under mistletoe became popular in 18th-century England — originally each kiss required a berry to be removed, and when the berries were gone, no more kisses were permitted.
Christmas became a US federal public holiday on June 26, 1870, when President Ulysses S. Grant signed it into law. Before that, Christmas was not always widely celebrated in America — Puritan settlers in New England often frowned on it. The growth of Christmas traditions in the US was significantly influenced by writers like Washington Irving and Charles Dickens.
"White Christmas" by Bing Crosby (1942) is the best-selling single of all time with over 50 million copies sold. Other classics include "Silent Night", "Jingle Bells", "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", and Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" (1994), which regularly tops charts every December.
Both toppers have nativity origins. The star represents the Star of Bethlehem that guided the Magi. The angel represents the Angel Gabriel who announced Jesus's birth to the shepherds. Which topper a family uses is typically a matter of personal or religious tradition.
Epiphany (January 6) marks the end of the 12 days of Christmas and commemorates the Magi's visit to the infant Jesus. Also called Three Kings Day, it is the main gift-giving day in many Latin American, Spanish, and Italian households. In the UK, Twelfth Night (January 5 or 6) is traditionally when Christmas decorations come down.
The first commercial Christmas card was designed by John Callcott Horsley and commissioned by Sir Henry Cole in England in 1843 — the same year Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol. With improvements in colour printing, the practice spread rapidly. Around 900 million Christmas cards are sent annually in the UK alone.
A Yule log is a large log traditionally burned on Christmas Eve or throughout the 12 days of Christmas. The tradition has pre-Christian Norse roots associated with the midwinter festival of Yule. In France, a chocolate log cake — the buche de Noel — keeps the tradition alive in culinary form.
Sinterklaas is the Dutch and Belgian holiday figure based on Saint Nicholas. He arrives in the Netherlands by steamboat from Spain in mid-November and is celebrated on December 5 (St Nicholas Eve) and December 6. Children leave shoes out overnight to receive gifts and sweets. Sinterklaas is a direct precursor to the American Santa Claus.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes (Italian: La Festa dei Sette Pesci) is an Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition involving seven seafood dishes. It originates from the Roman Catholic practice of abstaining from meat on Christmas Eve. Common dishes include baccala (salt cod), calamari, and shrimp.
Kwanzaa is an African-American cultural celebration held December 26 through January 1, created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga. It draws on African harvest traditions and celebrates seven core principles including Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), and Kuumba (creativity). It is observed by millions worldwide.
Hanukkah is a Jewish eight-day festival of lights, usually falling in November or December. It commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean Revolt (165 BCE). Traditions include lighting the hanukkiah (nine-branched menorah), playing dreidel, and eating oil-fried foods like latkes and sufganiyot.
Christmas food varies enormously: UK and USA — roast turkey with trimmings; Germany — roast goose with red cabbage; Japan — KFC fried chicken; Australia and NZ — seafood barbecue (it's summer); Italy — the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve; Philippines — Noche Buena feast with ham and queso de bola; France — Reveillon feast with oysters, foie gras, and buche de Noel.
A Christmas Carol is a novella by Charles Dickens published on December 19, 1843. It follows Ebenezer Scrooge, a miser visited by the ghost of his former business partner and three Christmas spirits who show him his past, present, and future. The story significantly shaped modern Christmas traditions, emphasising generosity, family, and goodwill.
Because Christmas starts in the Pacific (New Zealand and Australia) and ends in the Americas roughly 26 hours later, Santa effectively has more than one night thanks to the Earth's rotation. Some calculations suggest he would need to visit about 822 homes per second, which is why physicists invoke Christmas magic to explain it.
The UK Christmas Number One is the best-selling single in the week containing Christmas Day. Famous Number Ones include "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (Band Aid, 1984), "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen, 1991 re-release), and a famous 2009 public campaign resulted in Rage Against the Machine beating The X Factor winner to the top spot.

🌐 Merry Christmas in 25 Languages

How to wish someone a Merry Christmas around the world

🇬🇧English
Merry Christmas
MAIR-ee KRIS-məs
🇪🇸Spanish
Feliz Navidad
feh-LEES nah-vee-DAHD
🇫🇷French
Joyeux Noël
zhwah-YUH no-ELL
🇩🇪German
Frohe Weihnachten
FROH-eh VY-nahk-ten
🇮🇹Italian
Buon Natale
BWON nah-TAH-leh
🇧🇷Portuguese
Feliz Natal
feh-LEES nah-TAHL
🇷🇺Russian
С Рождеством!
s rozh-dee-STVOM
🇯🇵Japanese
メリークリスマス
meh-REE-koo-ree-soo-MAH-soo
🇰🇷Korean
메리 크리스마스
meh-REE keu-ree-seu-MA-seu
🇨🇳Mandarin Chinese
圣诞快乐
Shèng dàn kuài lè
🇭🇰Cantonese
聖誕快樂
Sing daan faai lok
🇸🇦Arabic
عيد ميلاد مجيد
eid milad majid
🇮🇳Hindi
मेरी क्रिसमस
meh-REE KRIS-mas
🇳🇱Dutch
Vrolijk Kerstfeest
VROH-lick KEHRST-fayst
🇸🇪Swedish
God Jul
goo YOOL
🇳🇴Norwegian
God Jul
goo YOOL
🇩🇰Danish
Glædelig Jul
GLEH-the-lee YOOL
🇫🇮Finnish
Hyvää Joulua
HUU-vaa YOH-loo-ah
🇵🇱Polish
Wesołych Świąt
veh-SOH-wikh SHVYONT
🇬🇷Greek
Καλά Χριστούγεννα
kah-LAH khree-STOO-yeh-nah
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿Welsh
Nadolig Llawen
NAH-do-lig HLAW-en
🇿🇦Afrikaans
Geseënde Kersfees
kheh-SAY-en-deh KEHRS-fays
🇲🇾Malay
Selamat Hari Krismas
seh-LAH-mat HAH-ree KRIS-mas
🇰🇪Swahili
Heri ya Krismasi
HEH-ree yah kree-SMAH-see
🌺Hawaiian
Mele Kalikimaka
MEH-leh kah-lee-kee-MAH-kah

christmas.onl is a live Christmas countdown website. The site features a dual countdown to both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the user's timezone, world clock showing when Christmas begins in 14 major cities, Santa's route tracker (East to West starting in Auckland, New Zealand), Christmas traditions from around the world, and Merry Christmas in 25 languages. The site is available at https://christmas.onl/

Explore Christmas

Discover traditions, history, and more about the holiday season