Questions about Christmas 2026

The 1st Advent is on 29 November 2026. Many Christmas markets open in the week before; on Totensonntag, 22 November, some stay closed or open later. On Evenitto the season runs from 20 November to 6 January 2027, Epiphany.

Christmas Eve is on Thursday 24 December. The 1st Christmas Day is Friday 25 December and the 2nd Christmas Day Saturday 26 December. New Year's Eve is on Thursday 31 December.

St Nicholas Day is on 6 December, a Sunday. In 2026 it falls on the 2nd Advent. On the evening before, children put their boots outside the door, and many cities, theatres and markets celebrate the Nikolaus festival.

Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio (Weihnachtsoratorium) is made of six cantatas for the feast days from Christmas to Epiphany. Usually only three are played in one evening, cantatas I to III, which is a good two hours of music.

The Nutcracker is a ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky after E. T. A. Hoffmann's story “Nutcracker and Mouse King”, first performed in 1892 in Saint Petersburg. In Advent ballet companies tour it and theatres dance it; sometimes it is also played as a concert or told for children.

A Weihnachtsmärchen is a fairy-tale play for children and families. Many city theatres run one from mid-November until just before Christmas, often in the morning and the afternoon. The recommended age is given with the show.

No. Evenitto does not keep a calendar of Christmas markets for Germany yet. Markets are here when they are listed as an event with a date. For the dates and hours of the market in your city, look at the city or the organiser.

Entry to most Christmas markets is free, and many churches, choirs and cities invite you to Advent concerts and sing-alongs for free or by donation. The ones Evenitto knows are on the Free page.

For Christmas concerts, The Nutcracker, Christmas fairy tales and shows it is worth it: the popular dates in the weeks before Christmas often sell out early. The page of each event links to the ticket sale.