Your Guide to International Celebrations
When is Christmas?
Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. It is a day of Church-going, gift-giving, and family gathering. Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25th.
The actual birthday of Jesus is unknown. A late December celebration was selected to offer an alternative to the Winter Solstice celebrations.
Christmas Day is always celebrated on December 25th. However, while the Western Churches use the modern Gregorian Calendar, the Eastern Churches tend to use the older Julian Calendar. December 25th on the Julian calendar is January 7th on the Gregorian.
[W]e hold this (Christmas) day Holy, not like the pagans because of the Birth of the Sun, but because of the birth of him who made it"
- St Augustine
| Year | Western Church (includes Catholic and Protestant) |
Eastern Orthodox Church (often includes Greek and Russian) |
| 2013 | Wednesday, December 25th | Monday, January 7th |
| 2014 | Thursday, December 25th | Tuesday, January 7th |
| 2015 | Friday, December 25th | Wednesday, January 7th |
| 2016 | Sunday, December 25th | Thursday, January 7th |
| 2017 | Monday, December 25th | Saturday, January 7th |
| 2018 | Tuesday, December 25th | Sunday, January 7th |
| 2019 | Wednesday, December 25th | Monday, January 7th |
| 2020 | Friday, December 25th | Tuesday, January 7th |
Other Christian Holidays