Did Trump declare Christmas Eve a Federal Holiday in 2025? Here's what we know

President Trump issued an executive order giving federal workers Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 off, with December 25 being off already due to Christmas.

Published on: Dec 19, 2025, 07:08:26 IST

By Shirin Gupta

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President Donald Trump has issued an executive order declaring Christmas Eve (December 24) and the day after Christmas (December 26) as days off for most federal employees, effectively granting an extended holiday break around Christmas this year.

President Donald Trump declared a holiday this year on Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas for federal workers. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY (REUTERS)

This will give a four-day break for many government workers, amid broader political and morale-boosting efforts following a prolonged government shutdown earlier this year.

However, as opposed to media coverage reporting it as “federal holidays”, the holidays only apply for the year 2025 and are not a permanent addition to the official federal holiday calendar.

Temporary holiday for federal workers

According to Trump's directive, most federal offices will be closed on Christmas Eve, giving civil servants a multi-day winter break that bookends the already-established Christmas Day holiday on December 25.

Trump had also granted Christmas Eve off for federal workers during his first administration in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and President Biden did so for 2024.

Federal employees normally already receive Christmas Day off as one of the 11 official federal holidays defined by Congress. These statutory holidays, such as New Year’s Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day, are codified in law by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and cannot be altered permanently by executive order alone.

Therefore, the President can only grant additional days off to federal staff on a one-time basis through executive action. That is what Trump has done for 2025, but the order does not make December 24 or December 26 permanent fixtures on the federal holiday calendar beyond this year.

What about the private sector workers?

Private sector employees are not legally obligated to get these days off because this order is temporary, unless their employers decide to comply with government closures.

In the private sector, employment contracts and corporate policy usually regulate holiday pay and time off rather than governmental decrees.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shirin Gupta
Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More

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