Christmas in Malta is celebrated in church and in the street: cribs in homes and parishes, Christmas villages, and a Midnight Mass where a child gives the sermon. In December, the average temperature is 14.5 °C at Luqa, the reference station of the Malta Met Office (1991-2020 average), and the sea averages 18.3 °C. Friday 25 December 2026 is a public holiday; the 24th and the 26th are not.
On the 24th and 25th, Heritage Malta museums and sites close, and in recent years the buses and the Gozo ferry have taken a break in the middle of the day on the 25th. It is a good time for cribs, village celebrations and sightseeing in the winter sun, less so for the sea: several of our boat trips stop, but our Gozo tours carry on. Dates and times as read on 22 October 2026.
- Markets: Woodland Christmas Market from 4 to 13 December 2026, Ta' Sannat market (Gozo) on 6 December 2026; Fairyland and Natalis Notabilis not dated yet.
- Cribs: Qala exhibition from 13 December 2026 to 3 January 2027; Għajnsielem living nativity not dated yet (2025-2026 season: 14 December 2025 to 4 January 2026).
- Midnight Mass: on the night of 24 to 25 December, with a sermon given by a child.
- 25 December: public holiday, Heritage Malta museums closed, buses stopped from noon to 3pm and from 9pm in 2025.
- Weather: 14.5 °C on average in December, sea at 18.3 °C, sunset at 4.54pm on the 25th.
- Gozo: ferry from Ċirkewwa to Mġarr, or our Gozo day tours, every day, weather permitting.
Malta Christmas markets and villages: the 2026 calendar
Malta's big Christmas markets are also festive villages, with rides, an ice rink and Santa. Here are the ones that have a date as of 22 October 2026; otherwise, the 2025 edition is given as a guide. The rest is on visitmalta's events calendar.
| Market or village | Where | Dates | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairyland, Santa's City | Triton Square (Valletta) and the Granaries (Floriana) | 2026: not announced yet. 2025: 5 December 2025 to 4 January 2026 | Malta Tourism Authority |
| Woodland Christmas Market | venue not given yet | 4 to 13 December 2026, 4pm to 7pm on weekdays, 10am to 7pm at weekends and on the 8th; free entry | Eco Market Malta, visitmalta |
| Christmas in the Square | Ta' Sannat (Gozo), St Margaret Square | shows on 5 December 2026, market on the 6th | visitmalta |
| Natalis Notabilis | old streets of Rabat | 2026: not announced yet. 2025: until 14 December 2025 | TVM, 7 December 2025 |
| Joy to the World | Nadur (Gozo) | 10 December 2026, parade at 6.30pm | visitmalta |
In 2025, Fairyland, in front of Valletta's city gate, had a big wheel (Rudolph's Wheel), an ice rink, a slide, a Christmas market and Santa with his elves (Malta Tourism Authority). For the rest of the capital, read things to do in Valletta.
In Rabat, next to Mdina, Natalis Notabilis had a Nativity trail, a crib exhibition and an ice rink on the roof of the band club in 2025 (TVM). See also things to do in Rabat.
Christmas cribs in Malta: presepju, exhibitions and a living nativity
The crib, presepju in Maltese, is everywhere: you will find cribs in homes and small chapels, and going round them is a popular outing (Malta tourism office). In Gozo, the parish churches are usually decorated with them, and few families are without their own (Gozo tourism office).
To see a lot of them at once, go to Qala, in Gozo: the yearly exhibition Qala Enchanted by Cribs brings together traditional and modern cribs there from 13 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 (visitmalta).
Bethlehem f'Għajnsielem, Gozo's living nativity
Bethlehem f'Għajnsielem is a life-size Nativity village, set up every December on 20,000 m² of fields at Ta' Passi, in Għajnsielem (often written Ghajnsielem), the village that Mġarr harbour belongs to, where the ferry comes in. In 2025, around a hundred volunteer actors brought it to life, with animals, crafts and food stalls (Gozo News, Gozo tourism office).
The 2026-2027 dates have not been announced as of 22 October 2026. As a guide: the 16th season ran from Sunday 14 December 2025 to 4 January 2026 (Adoration of the Magi), open to the public on some afternoons only: for example on 25 December from 4pm to 7pm and on the 26th from 2.30pm to 7pm (Gozo News, 15 December 2025). Entry is free, according to the Gozo tourism office.
How Christmas is celebrated in Malta: Midnight Mass and traditions
The big moment is Midnight Mass. The Christmas sermon is given by a child, an old tradition that takes a long time to prepare: in Dingli, in 2023, three children had rehearsed it for five weeks (TVM). In Gozo, during the Christmas Eve Mass, the statue of the Baby Jesus is brought in, and the celebration often carries on outside the church (Gozo tourism office).
At St Paul's Cathedral in Mdina, in 2024, the carols and the child's sermon started at 11.15pm, before the Midnight Mass led by the Archbishop (Archdiocese of Malta). The 2026 programme has not been published as of 22 October 2026; arrive early.
During Advent, St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta hosts candlelit carol singing, children sing in the streets, and the baroque churches are dressed in red and flowers (Malta tourism office).
Another tradition: the Christmas panto at the Manoel Theatre, for children and adults. The visitmalta events calendar also lists a rock panto from 26 to 30 December 2026: Goldilocks and The Three Rockin' Bears.
24, 25 and 26 December: what's open, buses and the ferry
Only 25 December is a public holiday, according to the official list of public holidays. Heritage Malta, which runs more than 90 museums and sites, including the Grand Master's Palace and the National Museum of Archaeology, closes everything on 24 and 25 December: see Heritage Malta's opening hours. The 2026 Christmas timetables for the buses and the ferry have not been published yet; here are those from recent years.
| Day (2026) | Heritage Malta | Buses (2025) | Gozo ferry (2024) | Living nativity (2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday 24th | closed | nothing announced | nothing announced | closed |
| Friday 25th (public holiday) | closed | no service from noon to 3pm and from 9pm | no service from noon to 3pm | 4pm to 7pm |
| Saturday 26th | open (winter hours) | routes 150, X1A and 207 not running until 4 January | nothing announced | 2.30pm to 7pm |
Christmas Day is a family day. To have lunch at a restaurant on the 25th, book early: some serve a festive menu, and the visitmalta events calendar already lists one for 2026. To get around that day, take the bus in the morning or between 3pm and 9pm, and check the 2026 timetable on the Malta Public Transport website (in 2025, it was announced on 9 December).
For 31 December, read our article on New Year in Malta.
Christmas food: seasonal sweets
For Christmas, the Gozo tourism office lists qagħaq tal-għasel (“honey rings”), imqaret filled with dates, nougat, roasted chestnuts, mulled wine and imbuljuta, a chestnut drink. The rest of the local food is in our guide to Maltese food specialities.
What's the weather like at Christmas?
In December, the average is 14.5 °C at Luqa (1991-2020 average from the Malta Met Office), with 84.8 mm of rain, a little over 5 hours of sunshine a day and the sea at 18.3 °C. Over the last ten Christmases, the mildest was in 2022 (20.7 °C) and the coolest in 2024 (13.6 °C during the day), according to the Met Office quoted by MaltaToday on 22 December 2025. On the 25th, the sun sets at 4.54pm; the month in detail is in Malta in December.
Christmas in Gozo: village celebrations and the ferry
In Gozo, Christmas is celebrated in the villages. As well as the cribs of Għajnsielem and Qala, Joy to the World takes place in Nadur on 10 December 2026 (parade at 6.30pm, then Santa, games and workshops in the square), and Santa's Magical Night, a Christmas evening for families, in Qala on 12 December 2026 (visitmalta).
The Gozo Channel ferry links Ċirkewwa and Mġarr. On 25 December 2024, it stopped from noon to 3pm (last departure from Ċirkewwa at midday, service resuming at 3.15pm), and changed timetables were announced again for Christmas 2025: check the 2026 timetable on the Gozo Channel website. The crossing is covered in how to get to Gozo, and sightseeing in things to do in Gozo.
Our trips around Christmas: what runs from 20 December to 6 January
Our Gozo day tours carry on in December and January: Yippee runs them every day, all year round, by quad with a guide, by buggy with a guide, by 4x4 jeep with a driver or by tuk-tuk with a driver. Pick-up depends on where you are staying; the details are given when you book. For 25 December, book according to the dates offered on the tour page.
If the sea is too rough, the crossing is made by ferry, tickets included; in winter, you are back at around 5pm, with no swim at Comino. Gozo Pride also runs its days with lunch all year round, as a quad day with lunch or a buggy day with lunch, moved or cancelled free of charge in bad weather. Our days in Gozo are also gathered on the Gozo day trips page.
At sea, our private catamarans, sailing boat and RIB with a skipper (Ta' Xbiex or Sliema) can be hired until 31 December 2026, such as the private catamaran for 14 people; from force 5, the trip is postponed or refunded.
Not running: our sunset tours and cruises, Yippee's boat trips to the Blue Lagoon (mid-April to mid-October), Hornblower's day cruises (no departures in December or January, back on 1 February 2027), the Spirit of Malta and the boat parties. We don't sell any parties for Christmas.
FAQ: Christmas in Malta
Are there Christmas markets in Malta?
Yes: in 2026, the Woodland Christmas Market from 4 to 13 December and the Ta' Sannat market, in Gozo, on 6 December. Fairyland, in Valletta, has no dates yet as of 22 October 2026 (2025-2026 edition: 5 December 2025 to 4 January 2026).
What is there to do in Malta at Christmas?
Go round the cribs, including the Għajnsielem living nativity, spend an evening in a Christmas village, go to Midnight Mass and spend a day in Gozo. Avoid museums on the 24th and 25th: Heritage Malta's are closed.
What's open on Christmas Day in Malta?
Churches, some restaurants (festive menu, to be booked) and, in 2025, the Għajnsielem living nativity from 4pm to 7pm. Heritage Malta museums are closed, and in 2025 the buses stopped from noon to 3pm and from 9pm.
Are restaurants open on Christmas Day?
Some are, with a festive menu: the visitmalta events calendar already lists one for 25 December 2026. Book early.
What time is Midnight Mass?
At midnight, on the night of 24 to 25 December. In 2024, at Mdina Cathedral, the carols and the child's sermon started at 11.15pm.
What's the weather like in Malta at Christmas?
Mild: 14.5 °C on average in December and the sea at 18.3 °C. Over the last ten Christmases, the mildest was in 2022 (20.7 °C) and the coolest in 2024 (13.6 °C during the day).
Do buses run on Christmas Day?
Yes, with a break: on 25 December 2025, they stopped from noon to 3pm, then from 9pm. The 2026 timetable has not been published as of 22 October 2026.
When does Gozo's living nativity open?
Its 2026 dates have not been announced yet. In 2025-2026, it opened on some afternoons only, from 14 December 2025 to 4 January 2026.
Is 26 December a public holiday in Malta?
No, only 25 December is. On the 26th, Heritage Malta museums do not close for the holiday.