Christmas Day falls on Friday, 25 December 2026, and is a gazetted holiday in the official 2026 list for central government administrative offices in Delhi and New Delhi. Christmas Eve, Thursday, 24 December, appears separately as a restricted holiday. For someone whose workplace normally closes on Saturday and Sunday, Christmas can therefore join the weekend of 26 and 27 December, but the office calendar must be checked before treating that as confirmed time off.

The Principal Controller of Communication Accounts, Delhi holiday page states the geographical and administrative scope of its list. It is a useful primary source for central office planning, rather than a single calendar governing every school, bank, private employer and state office in India. This guide was checked on 2 November 2026 for readers planning December leave.

DateDayMeaning for planning
24 December 2026ThursdayChristmas Eve, restricted holiday in the Delhi list
25 December 2026FridayChristmas Day, gazetted holiday
26 December 2026SaturdayWeekend only where the work schedule provides it
27 December 2026SundayWeekend only where the work schedule provides it
31 December 2026ThursdayNot listed as a December holiday in this Delhi calendar

What are the December 2026 government holidays?

In the Delhi central administrative office list, Christmas Day is the December entry under gazetted holidays. A separate official list published by the U R Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru also identifies 25 December 2026 as Friday and Christmas Day. That provides a second government calendar confirming the date and weekday; it does not make every workplace's complete holiday arrangements identical.

The distinction matters when a search result promises a long list of December holidays across India. Such lists may combine weekly rest days, regional observances, restricted holidays and vacations from different institutions. Each can be relevant to someone, but combining them does not establish that one reader receives all those days off.

Use the calendar issued for the office or service you actually need. An appointment at an administrative office, a school attendance requirement and a bank counter visit are different arrangements. A date confirmed for one should not be carried across to the others without their own official notice.

Is Christmas Eve on 24 December a public holiday?

The Delhi list places Christmas Eve in its restricted holiday section, not its gazetted holiday section. Employees should check their applicable leave procedure and obtain any required approval. Seeing the date in that section is not enough to assume that the entire office closes, or that a visitor can skip checking whether a scheduled service will operate.

For a five-day working week, the practical difference is clear. Christmas Day plus the following Saturday and Sunday can produce three consecutive days away from the workplace. Adding Christmas Eve would make that four days only if the employee is entitled to take it and the necessary leave is approved. The calendar establishes dates; it cannot grant an individual leave request.

Which weekends fall in December 2026?

The Saturdays are 5, 12, 19 and 26 December. The Sundays are 6, 13, 20 and 27 December. These are calendar calculations for 2026, not additional government notifications. People on a roster, a six-day week or a service schedule should apply their own weekly rest arrangements rather than count all eight dates automatically.

For travel, mark the proposed departure and return dates separately from the holiday itself. A journey returning on Monday, 28 December may require another leave day even if the preceding Friday is a holiday. Equally, an overnight journey can cross into a working day. Checking the actual arrival date avoids building a plan around the departure date alone.

Are school winter vacations and bank holidays the same?

No school winter vacation dates are established by the central administrative office list used here. Families should wait for the relevant education department, board or school circular. Likewise, a banking holiday search needs the applicable official banking calendar and location. This article does not infer bank closure on 29 December, or any other date, merely because a query suggestion asks about it.

Keep a copy of the notice that applies to your institution, including any revision, and confirm appointments close to the visit. For adjacent planning, read the November central government holiday guide, the 24 November Guru Nanak Jayanti guide and the 1 to 3 December Kumbhalgarh Festival guide. Their dates serve different purposes and should be matched to your own leave calendar.