Christmas Day in Latvia

Public holiday and work rules

Latvia’s law lists December 24, 25 and 26 as public holidays for Christmas (winter solstice). Christmas Day is therefore one day in a three-day holiday period. The law provides a following-working-day holiday when certain other named holidays fall on a weekend, but does not include Christmas among those holidays.[1]

Under the Labour Law, employees are not required to work on public holidays. Work may be required when needed to maintain continuity of the work process, with rest on another weekday or appropriate remuneration.[4]

Winter-solstice customs

The Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum describes Christmas as one of the traditional annual celebrations shaped by the cycle of the sun, with the winter solstice marking a turning point toward longer days and spring. Its account describes older Latvian observances lasting three or sometimes four days and nights, with singing, dancing, decorated interiors, shared feasts, visits to relatives and neighbours, and masked processions.[2]

One custom the museum documents is log rolling: people pulled a log from homestead to homestead and ceremonially burned it. The museum describes different interpretations of the ritual, including leaving hardship behind and symbolically marking the sun’s turn toward spring.[2]

Riga’s Christmas-tree record

Riga’s Monument Agency reports that 1510 archival records describe members of the Brotherhood of Blackheads carrying a decorated tree from their guild house after Christmas, dancing around it and then burning it. The agency notes that modern Riga residents have interpreted this record as the beginning of the public Christmas-tree lighting tradition.[3]

Planning around the holiday

Because Christmas Day is a statutory public holiday, employees generally have the day free under the Labour Law, subject to the continuity-of-work exception. Public holidays can affect opening hours. Visitors should check the specific business or transport operator before making plans.[1][4]