Christmas dates

When Christmas, Advent and the first day of winter fall. How much do you know?

You're working out who hosts and who drives, and it all depends on one square of the calendar. What day of the week is Christmas in 2026?

You're carrying the wreath over to the church for the first Sunday of Advent. What date is that in 2026?

Your granddaughter asks where December 25 came from. Where does the date first show up in writing?

Nobody knows for sure

The Bible gives no date for the birth of Jesus, and the first record of December 25 comes from Rome around 336, in a calendar known as the Chronography of 354. Scholars still debate the reason. One view counts nine months from a March 25 conception, and the other points to Rome's midwinter feasts.

Was Jesus really born on December 25? The Bible doesn't say, and most major Christian churches don't treat December 25 as the historical date. It's the day set aside to celebrate his birth.

You'd like to be on the couch when the big New York tree lights up. What night is it in 2026?

Wednesday, December 2

The ceremony runs from 7 to 10 p.m. Eastern at Rockefeller Center in New York, and the lights come on near the end. There are no public tickets for it, but anyone can see the tree for free once it's lit, and it stays up into January.

Can I watch it on TV? NBC usually televises the ceremony. Its 2026 broadcast details hadn't been posted when this was checked.

The boxes are down from the attic and someone at dinner says it's too early. When do most people put up their tree?

Thanksgiving to early December

There's no rule for this. In a national poll in December 2025, 58 percent of people with a tree put it up between Thanksgiving and the end of the first week of December, and 18 percent went earlier. A fresh-cut tree that stays watered usually lasts four to five weeks, so the weekend after Thanksgiving should carry it through Christmas.

How early is too early for a real tree? A fresh-cut tree that stays watered usually lasts four to five weeks. For Christmas 2026 that reaches back to about November 20.

You want a candle in every window on the shortest day of the year. Which day is it in 2026?

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