Christmas Day is 25 December and a statutory public holiday throughout Austria. In practice, the key points are holiday rest, mostly closed shops, Christmas school holidays, restaurants that often require reservations and leave planning around Saint Stephen's Day, New Year's Day and the days in between. Here you will find the most important information on school holidays, opening hours, meaning and leave planning.
Christmas Day falls in 2026 on Friday, 25 December 2026. The day is a nationwide statutory public holiday, lies in the middle of the Christmas school holidays and is the first of Austria's two Christmas public holidays.
In 2026, Christmas Day falls on Friday, 25 December 2026.
25 December is listed in section 7 of the Working Rest Act as Christmas and applies throughout Austria.
Regular retail, banks, authorities and many service providers are closed; exceptions mainly concern supply, travel and tourism.
Christmas Day falls in 2026 on Friday. With annual leave from 28 December to 31 December, you get a block from Christmas Day until after New Year's Day.
Christmas Day on 25 December is Austria's first statutory Christmas public holiday. It differs clearly from Christmas Eve: 24 December is culturally central, but regulated differently under employment law; 25 December is explicitly listed in the Working Rest Act.
How to best use the Christmas block through New Year's Day for days off.
Christmas Day falls in 2026 on Friday. With annual leave from 28 December to 31 December, you get a block from Christmas Day until after New Year's Day.
Maximize your free time around Christmas Day:
What you need to consider for shopping, work and traffic on 25 December.
In everyday life, Christmas Day is quieter than Christmas Eve. Instead of gift shopping, the focus is on supplies, meals, travel, visits, church services, rosters and reservations.
For most employees, holiday rest applies on 25 December. Work is possible only in permitted sectors such as health care, nursing, transport, safety, hospitality, hotels, tourism or supply services.
Regular supermarkets, shopping centres, banks, public offices and many service providers are closed. Typical exceptions are petrol stations, travel-supply locations, emergency services, individual bakery or railway-station locations and tourist businesses.
Many restaurants stay closed on Christmas Day or work with fixed holiday menus. Open restaurants, hotel restaurants and excursion dining are often booked out early.
In the 2026/27 school year, the Christmas holidays run according to the ministry from 24 December 2026 to 6 January 2027. For families, childcare, travel and the return after Epiphany are relevant.
Why Christmas Day is a real public holiday under employment law.
Legally, Christmas Day is clearer than Christmas Eve. 25 December is a statutory public holiday under § 7 of the Working Rest Act. For most employees, that means holiday rest. [1]
Work on Christmas Day is not impossible, however. Hospitals, care, transport, safety, hotels, hospitality, tourism, energy supply and other permitted sectors may have rosters. That is why simply saying "free" is not enough; roster, collective agreement and sector remain important.
Section 7 of the Working Rest Act explicitly names 25 December as Christmas. Christmas Day is therefore a nationwide statutory public holiday and not merely a customary day.
Anyone working on 25 December is usually in an expressly permitted sector. Pay, substitute rest and supplements depend on the law, collective agreement, employment contract and roster.
If 25 December does not fall on a normal working day in 2026, or falls during weekly rest, classic Monday-to-Friday jobs do not receive a general substitute public holiday like in British or US systems.
Christmas Eve is treated differently under employment law from Christmas Day. 25 and 26 December are listed in the Working Rest Act; 24 December is shaped by collective agreements, employers and sector practice.
Yes. Christmas Day on 25 December is listed in the Working Rest Act as Christmas and is a nationwide statutory public holiday in Austria.
Christmas Day falls in 2026 on Friday, 25 December 2026. The public holiday is fixed on 25 December every year.
Regular shops and supermarkets are usually closed. Exceptions mainly concern petrol stations, travel-supply locations, emergency services, railway-station locations, hospitality, tourism and individual local special cases.
Some restaurants and hotel restaurants open on Christmas Day, while many others remain closed or work with fixed holiday menus. Reservations should be made early because suitable tables are limited.
25 December is the statutory public holiday under the Working Rest Act. 24 December is Christmas Eve and is practically shortened or free in many sectors, but it is regulated differently under employment law.
For classic Monday-to-Friday employees there is no general automatic substitute public holiday. Anyone regularly working on public holidays or weekends should check roster, collective agreement and pay rules.
Christmas Day falls in 2026 on Friday. With annual leave from 28 December to 31 December, you get a block from Christmas Day until after New Year's Day.
The background explains the church meaning and Austria's sequence of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Saint Stephen's Day. It also adds guidance for family meals, hotels, thermal spas and winter holidays.
What is celebrated on 25 December and why Christmas Day in Austria works differently from Christmas Eve.
In church terms, Christmas Day is the feast of Christ's birth. Katholisch.at describes Christmas as the celebration of Christ's birth and God's incarnation; the actual public holiday is 25 December, even though the celebration already begins on the evening before. [4]
In Austria this distinction is very visible in practice: gift-giving usually takes place on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day is then the quieter day for church services, family, food, visits, walks, restaurants or travel.
This context matters because many questions mix the Christmas dates: is the 24th free? Is the 25th statutory? What about the 26th? When do the Christmas school holidays begin? Which shops and restaurants open?
In church terms, Christmas Day is Christmas: the feast of Christ's birth and God's incarnation. In the Catholic calendar, 25 December is celebrated as the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord.
Many celebrations begin during the night from 24 to 25 December. On Christmas Day itself, church services, family visits and a quieter holiday rhythm follow.
In Austria, gift-giving mostly takes place on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day is then more of a quiet public holiday for family, food, church services, visits and rest.
Saint Stephen's Day on 26 December follows directly after Christmas Day and is also a statutory public holiday. This two-day combination shapes the Austrian Christmas break.
Why 25 December is the quieter public holiday for the family.
For many households, Christmas Day is the quieter part of Christmas. After Christmas Eve, the focus shifts away from shopping and organisation toward visits, meals, church services, rest, music, walks and the first school-holiday days.
At the same time, the day is not trivial to organise. Anyone eating out needs to reserve early. Anyone travelling should clarify the journey and check-in. Anyone working needs the public-holiday roster. Anyone planning family visits should check traffic and public connections.
Before 25 December, opening hours, open restaurants, church-service times, Christmas school holidays, winter holidays and the transition to Saint Stephen's Day should be clarified.
After Christmas Eve, 25 December is in many places the day for visiting relatives, taking calmer routes, eating together and having longer conversations.
Whether at home, in an inn or in a hotel restaurant: Christmas Day is an important dining date. For guests, reservations, opening hours, menus and regional offers matter.
The tree is up, the gifts are usually unwrapped and many errands are done. Christmas Day lives from calm, music, light, Mass, a walk and time at home.
Hotels, thermal spas, ski regions and family resorts are often booked early around Christmas Day. Anyone travelling should clarify travel, restaurant tables and check-in times in good time.
Why Christmas Day is the most important start for winter holidays.
In many years, Christmas Day starts the most important leave block of the year. The combination of 25 December, Saint Stephen's Day, a weekend, a few days of leave and New Year's Day makes the period especially attractive for hotels, thermal spas, ski areas, family resorts and rail travel.
Anyone using the Christmas block should first check: which days are worth taking as leave? Which restaurants are open? When do the Christmas school holidays begin? How busy are rail, roads and ski areas? Which offers fit families, couples or people seeking calm instead of a packed programme?
After that, bookings matter: Christmas hotels, holiday menus, wellness, rail travel, winter holidays, family rooms, cancellation options and regional restaurants.
Useful tools for further holiday and leisure planning.
Christmas Day should be understood as part of the whole Christmas sequence. 24 December explains the evening before, 25 December the statutory public holiday and quiet family day, and 26 December the second public holiday plus travel and leisure logic.
For the next step, use the annual-leave planner, the school-holiday calendar and the calendar-week overview.
Next, it is worth checking places and times: which restaurants open on 25 December, which hotels offer Christmas menus, how do trains and public transport run, where are church services held and which leave blocks reach New Year's Day?
Open the right next step for leave planning, school breaks, calendar weeks, subscriptions or related event context.