Christmas Day in Singapore 2026, 2027 & 2028

Christmas Day in Singapore falls on 25 December every year and is one of the country’s 11 gazetted public holidays. In 2026 it lands on a Friday, giving most employees a natural three-day weekend without any leave application. In 2027 it falls on a Saturday, which changes the off-in-lieu arithmetic. In 2028 it moves to a Monday. Below are the confirmed and projected dates, what they mean for your pay and leave, and answers to the questions people in Singapore actually search for around Christmas — from Boxing Day to whether the malls stay open.

Last updated: 15 September 2026

Christmas Day Dates for 2026, 2027 and 2028

25 December is a fixed date, so it does not move the way lunar or Islamic holidays do. The Ministry of Manpower confirms the day of the week each year as part of its official public holiday list; the 2028 listing is still an estimate based on the calendar until MOM publishes that year’s gazette.

For all other dates in one place, see our Singapore public holidays 2026 calendar, 2027 calendar and 2028 calendar.

Is Christmas Day a Public Holiday in Singapore?

Yes. Christmas Day is one of Singapore’s 11 gazetted public holidays under the Holidays Act, alongside days such as New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Vesak Day, National Day and Deepavali. Employees covered by the Employment Act are generally entitled to a paid public holiday on 25 December, subject to MOM’s usual eligibility rules on length of service and work pattern.

Singapore observes Christmas Day itself as the public holiday. 24 December (Christmas Eve) and 26 December (Boxing Day) are ordinary working days — more on that below.

Christmas Day 2027 Falls on a Saturday — Do You Get a Day in Lieu?

If you work a standard five-day week, Saturday is normally a non-working day for you. When a public holiday falls on that non-working Saturday, MOM’s rule is that an eligible employee should receive either another day off or one extra day’s salary in lieu, at the gross rate of pay. The replacement day does not have to be the following Monday unless your employer specifically arranges it that way.

This is a different situation from a public holiday falling on a Sunday. When that happens, the next working day automatically becomes a paid public holiday. A Saturday does not trigger that automatic shift, which is why Christmas 2027 needs employer confirmation rather than an assumption of a free Monday.

If you’re on a six-day work week, or your contract defines rest days differently, check your own arrangement rather than relying on the five-day-week rule above — your HR department or the MOM guide to public holidays can confirm the exact entitlement for your contract.

What If You Work on Christmas Day?

Retail, F&B, hospitality and healthcare workers are often needed on Christmas Day precisely because it’s one of the busiest trading days of the year. Your entitlement depends on whether 25 December is normally a working day, a non-working day or a rest day under your contract.

For an employee whose normal working day it is, being asked to work means the employer still owes the public holiday entitlement (a paid day off or the in-lieu pay described above) separate from your normal salary for that day, plus any applicable overtime for hours beyond your contracted limit. The exact calculation depends on your Employment Act coverage and salary structure — this page is general information, not a substitute for checking your payslip or asking HR directly.

Is Boxing Day (26 December) a Public Holiday in Singapore?

No. This trips up a lot of people who’ve lived in or follow the UK, Australia or New Zealand, where 26 December is a public holiday in its own right. Singapore does not observe Boxing Day. 26 December is a normal working day unless it happens to fall on a weekend by coincidence of the calendar.

Some retailers still run “Boxing Day”-style year-end sales as a marketing term borrowed from those markets, but it carries no public holiday status here.

Is Christmas Eve (24 December) a Public Holiday?

No, 24 December is not a gazetted public holiday. It’s an ordinary working day, though many private-sector employers voluntarily release staff early or grant a half-day as a goodwill gesture heading into the holiday. That’s entirely at the employer’s discretion and varies by company — it isn’t a statutory entitlement, so don’t assume it applies to your workplace.

Does Christmas Create a Long Weekend?

2026: Christmas falls on Friday, 25 December, which runs straight into the weekend for a three-day break (Friday to Sunday) with no leave application needed.

2027: Christmas falls on Saturday. Unless your employer grants a specific in-lieu day on the Friday before or the Monday after, there’s no automatic long weekend this year — confirm your company’s arrangement before booking anything.

2028: Christmas falls on Monday, 25 December, again giving a three-day weekend (Saturday to Monday) without needing to take leave.

Because Christmas sits right before the school year-end holidays, many families extend the break with annual leave across the last week of December. If you’re planning around this, also check our Singapore school holidays page so travel and childcare plans line up.

What Does Christmas Mean in Singapore?

Christmas in Singapore sits at the intersection of religious observance and a genuinely multicultural, commercial festive season. For the Christian community, it marks the birth of Jesus Christ, and churches across the island hold Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, including well-attended midnight services at churches such as St Andrew’s Cathedral.

Beyond the religious observance, Christmas is celebrated broadly across Singaporean society in the same way many countries here mark each community’s major festivals — with decorations, gift-giving, family meals and public celebrations that everyone joins regardless of faith. The clearest expression of this is the annual Orchard Road Christmas light-up, a decades-long tradition where the length of Orchard Road is strung with lights and installations from around November through early January, drawing both locals and tourists for evening walks, photos and shopping.

How Is Christmas Observed in Singapore?

Families gather for meals, exchange gifts and, for churchgoers, attend Christmas services. Shopping malls and hotels compete each year on their decorations and light-ups, and December generally is the peak period for festive food promotions, from roast turkey sets to log cakes and mulled wine at hotel lobbies and restaurants.

December is also, not coincidentally, the year-end school holiday stretch, so Christmas week tends to be one of the busiest travel periods of the year both for Singaporeans heading overseas and for tourists arriving here. If you’re planning a staycation or dining out, book ahead — popular restaurants and hotels fill up well in advance of Christmas week.

Are Shops, Malls and Restaurants Open on Christmas Day?

Yes, for the most part. Christmas Day is actually one of the busiest retail days of the year in Singapore — malls, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and attractions generally stay open, often on their usual or slightly adjusted hours. It’s a public holiday for employees, not a closure day for businesses.

What does typically close: government offices, banks, schools and some smaller family-run shops. If you have a specific errand — a bank visit, a clinic appointment, a specific store — check that business’s own hours directly rather than assuming, since individual businesses set their own holiday schedules.

Does Public Transport Run on Christmas Day?

Yes. MRT trains and public buses operate as usual on Christmas Day, and given how busy Orchard Road and the shopping belt get in December, services in that area can be more crowded than normal in the evenings. Frequency, first and last train timings and any engineering works can still change, so check the latest notice from SBS Transit, SMRT or the LTA before you travel, particularly late at night.

Christmas Travel and Planning Tips

• December overlaps with year-end school holidays, so flights and hotels around Christmas week are typically priced higher and sell out earlier than other months — book as early as you can.
• If Christmas 2027 falls on your non-working Saturday, confirm your employer’s in-lieu arrangement before booking a “long weekend” trip — don’t assume the Friday or Monday is automatically free.
• Orchard Road gets significantly more crowded in the evenings through December; visiting on a weekday afternoon is a quieter way to see the light-up.
• If you’re combining Christmas with annual leave, compare dates against nearby entitlements and our other holiday guides, including 2027 long weekend planning.
• Restaurants, hotel Christmas buffets and popular attractions get booked out well ahead of 25 December — reserve early if you have a specific place in mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

When the Calendar Resets

Christmas is the final gazetted holiday of the year, and the calendar starts again a week later with New Year’s Day on 1 January. In 2027 that falls on a Friday, opening the year with a three-day weekend, and Chinese New Year follows on 6, 7 and 8 February. MOM’s confirmed 2027 dates are confirmed, and our 2028 estimates cover the year after for anyone planning well ahead. Parents can cross-check the school holiday term dates as well.