Christmas 2026 & New Year 2027 in Malaysia: Dates, Which States Get the Holiday & How to Plan a 10-Day Break
Christmas 2026 & New Year 2027 in Malaysia: Dates, Which States Get the Holiday & How to Plan a 10-Day Break
Christmas 2026 falls on Friday, 25 December, and New Year's Day 2027 falls on Friday, 1 January — exactly a week apart, and both on the last day of the working week. That's a rare calendar alignment worth planning around. But there's a catch most people miss: unlike Christmas, New Year's Day is not a public holiday in every Malaysian state. Here's exactly who gets the day off, and how to turn what you do get into a 10-day break.
Key Details: Christmas 2026 & New Year's Day 2027
| Holiday | Date | Day | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas | 25 December 2026 | Friday | Federal public holiday — observed in all states and territories |
| Christmas Eve | 24 December 2026 | Thursday | State holiday — Sabah only |
| New Year's Day | 1 January 2027 | Friday | State-gazetted holiday — observed in 12 of 16 states/territories (see below) |
Is New Year's Day a Public Holiday in Every State?
No — and this trips a lot of people up. Christmas is one of Malaysia's fixed federal holidays, so every state observes it. New Year's Day, however, is on the gazetted list of holidays that individual states choose to adopt, and four don't:
| Observes New Year's Day (Jan 1) | Does NOT observe it |
|---|---|
| Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, Putrajaya, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu | Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis |
If you work or study in Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, or Perlis, 1 January 2027 is a normal working day — you don't get a public holiday for it, only your usual weekend.
What's Open and Closed
| Category | Christmas (all states) | New Year's Day (12 states/territories only) |
|---|---|---|
| Government offices | Closed | Closed (open as usual in Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis) |
| Banks | Closed | Closed (open as usual in Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis) |
| Schools | Closed (falls within year-end school holidays) | Closed (falls within year-end school holidays nationwide either way) |
| Shopping malls | Open, with Christmas & year-end sales | Open, with New Year sales and countdown events |
| Restaurants & cafés | Most open, some with special hours | Most open, many hosting countdown events |
| Public transport | Runs on holiday schedule | Runs on holiday schedule where observed |
| Clinics & hospitals | Emergency services only; major hospitals 24/7 | Emergency services only; major hospitals 24/7 |
The Big Opportunity: Turn Two Fridays Into a 10-Day Break
Here's the part worth planning around. If you're in one of the 12 states/territories that observe both Christmas and New Year's Day, both holidays give you a natural 3-day weekend — and they're only four working days apart. Bridge that gap with leave, and you get a stretch of 10 consecutive days off using just 4 days of annual leave.
| Date | Day | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, 25 Dec | Friday | 🎉 Christmas (holiday) |
| Sat, 26 Dec | Saturday | Weekend |
| Sun, 27 Dec | Sunday | Weekend |
| Mon, 28 Dec | Monday | Take leave |
| Tue, 29 Dec | Tuesday | Take leave |
| Wed, 30 Dec | Wednesday | Take leave |
| Thu, 31 Dec | Thursday | Take leave |
| Fri, 1 Jan | Friday | 🎉 New Year's Day (holiday) |
| Sat, 2 Jan | Saturday | Weekend |
| Sun, 3 Jan | Sunday | Weekend |
Result: With just 4 days of annual leave (28–31 December), you get 10 consecutive days off — from Friday, 25 December through Sunday, 3 January.
Prefer to use less leave?
- No leave at all: You still get two separate 3-day weekends a week apart — 25–27 December and 1–3 January.
- 2 days of leave (Wed–Thu, 30–31 Dec): Turns the second half into a 5-day stretch (30 Dec–3 Jan), while Christmas weekend stands alone as its own 3-day break — a good middle ground if you'd rather save leave for later in the year.
Because this period overlaps with school holidays and year-end travel demand, flights and hotels for popular routes and resorts book out fast — reserve early if you're planning the full 10-day stretch.
If You're in Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, or Perlis
The 10-day hack above doesn't fully apply if you're based in one of these four states, since New Year's Day isn't gazetted there. Here's how the calendar actually plays out:
- Johor and Perlis (Saturday–Sunday weekend): Christmas still gives you the full 3-day weekend (25–27 Dec). But 1 January 2027 is a normal working Friday — your next break is just your usual Saturday–Sunday weekend (2–3 Jan), with no extra day attached.
- Kedah and Kelantan (Friday–Saturday weekend): Because Friday is already part of your weekend, a federal holiday landing on Friday (like Christmas) is typically shifted to give you Sunday, 27 December off in lieu — so you still end up with a 3-day break (25–27 Dec). New Year's Day, however, isn't observed at all in these two states, so 1 January is a regular working day and your following rest days are just the ordinary Friday–Saturday weekend.
If you want extended time off through the New Year period in any of these four states, you'll need to apply for leave to cover 1 January itself, not just the days around it. Confirm the exact arrangement with your employer or your state's official holiday gazette closer to the date, since replacement-holiday practices can vary by employer.
Why Malaysia Observes Christmas and New Year's Day
Christmas has been a gazetted public holiday in Malaysia since before independence, reflecting the country's Christian minority — concentrated among communities in Sabah, Sarawak, and parts of the peninsula — as well as its role as a widely celebrated cultural and shopping season for Malaysians of all backgrounds. It's one of the fixed dates every state observes, alongside occasions like Labour Day and Malaysia Day.
New Year's Day, observed globally on the Gregorian calendar, sits differently in Malaysia's holiday system: because it isn't one of the handful of holidays fixed by federal law, each state government decides individually whether to gazette it. Most states have chosen to, treating it as a normal secular new-year marker, while Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, and Perlis have historically left it off their list, often placing more weight on the Islamic New Year (Awal Muharram) instead.
How Malaysians Celebrate the Season
- Christmas lights and markets: Shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Kota Kinabalu compete with elaborate light displays and Christmas markets from early December
- Church services: Midnight Mass and Christmas Eve services draw large crowds, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, which have Malaysia's largest Christian populations
- Open houses: Many Christian families host open houses with festive food, extending the same hospitality customs seen at Hari Raya and Chinese New Year
- Countdown events: Cities host New Year's Eve countdown concerts and fireworks — KLCC's Petronas Twin Towers countdown is the country's largest
- Year-end travel: With school holidays overlapping this period nationwide, many families use the stretch for domestic trips to Langkawi, the Cameron Highlands, or the East Coast, or for overseas travel
Frequently Asked Questions
What day of the week is Christmas 2026 in Malaysia?
Christmas 2026 falls on Friday, 25 December.
What day of the week is New Year's Day 2027 in Malaysia?
New Year's Day 2027 falls on Friday, 1 January — exactly one week after Christmas.
Is New Year's Day a public holiday throughout Malaysia?
No. It's observed in Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, Putrajaya, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, and Terengganu, but not in Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, or Perlis.
Is Christmas a public holiday in every state?
Yes — Christmas is a fixed federal public holiday observed in all 13 states and 3 federal territories.
How many leave days do I need for a 10-day break over Christmas and New Year?
In states that observe both holidays, 4 days of annual leave (28–31 December 2026) bridges the two 3-day weekends into 10 consecutive days off, from 25 December to 3 January.
Is Christmas Eve a public holiday?
Only in Sabah, where 24 December 2026 (Thursday) is gazetted as a state holiday.
Why don't Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, and Perlis observe New Year's Day?
Each Malaysian state independently decides which non-fixed holidays to gazette. These four states have historically not included New Year's Day on their list, and Kedah and Kelantan mark the Islamic New Year instead.
Planning the rest of your year-end calendar? Check our complete 2026 Malaysia public holiday guide for every gazetted date, or see our Deepavali 2026 guide for what's coming up just before this stretch. For the full year-round calendar, head to our holiday planner homepage.