#366 of 366Christmas Day in the U.S.index 56, 2007–2014; 100 is an average day
4 of 5countries where it is last or second to lastUnited States, England & Wales, Denmark, France
84 → 61U.S. Christmas Day index, 1969 to 2014each year against its own average day
December 26quietest date in England & WalesDenmark’s is December 24; the U.S. and France’s is December 25
In every daily national series this site holds, the days around Christmas are the quietest of the year, and Christmas Day itself is the quietest or second-quietest date in four of the five countries compared over the matched years 2007–2014. In the United States it ranks #366 of 366 at index 56, where 100 is an average day; in Denmark the quietest date is December 24 and in England and Wales December 26, with Christmas Day next. Malaysia, where the day is one public holiday among many, ranks #364. The second half of this page follows Christmas Day year by year: in each long series it has grown quieter, from index 84 in the United States of 1969 to 61 in 2014, and from 86 in France in 1968 to 73 in 2023. The series record births by date. Whether a quiet Christmas reflects scheduling, recording practice or something else is outside them.
Five countries, matched years
Countries are compared only over 2007–2014, which every daily source covers completely, by rank or index within each country. Each row is one date; each cell is that country’s rank of 366 and index.
Christmas and New Year dates, rank of 366 and index (100 = the country’s average day), 2007–2014
The quietest date of all in each country over the same window: December 25 in United States (index 56), December 26 in England & Wales (index 77), December 24 in Denmark (index 69), December 25 in France (index 79), May 1 in Malaysia (index 89). New Year’s Eve differs most: #44 in England and Wales against #233 in the United States.
United States: December 15 to January 10, index (100 = average day), 2007–2014
Births per occurrence for each date from December 15 to January 10 in United States, indexed to the country’s own average day over the matched window.
The dip is deepest on December 25.
England & Wales: December 15 to January 10, index (100 = average day), 2007–2014
Births per occurrence for each date from December 15 to January 10 in England & Wales, indexed to the country’s own average day over the matched window.
The dip is deepest on December 26.
Denmark: December 15 to January 10, index (100 = average day), 2007–2014
Births per occurrence for each date from December 15 to January 10 in Denmark, indexed to the country’s own average day over the matched window.
The dip is deepest on December 24.
France: December 15 to January 10, index (100 = average day), 2007–2014
Births per occurrence for each date from December 15 to January 10 in Metropolitan France, indexed to the country’s own average day over the matched window.
The dip is deepest on December 25.
Malaysia: December 15 to January 10, index (100 = average day), 2007–2014
Births per occurrence for each date from December 15 to January 10 in Malaysia, indexed to the country’s own average day over the matched window.
The dip is deepest on December 25.
Christmas Day, year by year
Each long series against itself: births on December 25 against that year’s average day, one point per year. The lines are drawn separately; the U.S. line has a gap where 1989–1993 fall between its two files.
United States: Christmas Day as an index of the year’s average day, 1969–1988 and 1994–2014
Births on December 25 against the average day of the same year in United States, one point per year, with 1989 to 1993 left blank.
84 in 1969, 61 in 2014; the low is 52 in 2011.
Metropolitan France: Christmas Day as an index of the year’s average day, 1968–2023
Births on December 25 against the average day of the same year in Metropolitan France, one point per year.
86 in 1968, 73 in 2023; the low is 67 in 1994.
England and Wales: Christmas Day as an index of the year’s average day, 1995–2025
Births on December 25 against the average day of the same year in England and Wales, one point per year.
73 in 1995, 66 in 2025; the low is 66 in 2025.
Denmark: Christmas Day as an index of the year’s average day, 2007–2025
Births on December 25 against the average day of the same year in Denmark, one point per year.
75 in 2007, 66 in 2025; the low is 56 in 2011.
Christmas Day and New Year’s Day as an index of the year’s average day, first and last year of each series
Series
Years
Dec 25, first year
Dec 25, last year
Jan 1, first year
Jan 1, last year
United States
1969–1988 and 1994–2014
84
61
86
73
Metropolitan France
1968–2023
86
73
91
80
England and Wales
1995–2025
73
66
86
76
Denmark
2007–2025
75
66
74
76
A falling index means only that a smaller share of the year’s births fell on the day. In every one of these series a Saturday or Sunday records fewer births than a weekday, and December 25 falls on a weekend about two years in seven, so single years move with the calendar. The direction across decades outlasts single-year moves.
Sources: the five matched series named on the five-country comparison (CDC/NCHS and SSA via FiveThirtyEight, ONS Table 12, Statistics Denmark FODDAG, INSEE T79jnais, Malaysia’s National Registration Department via data.gov.my), compared over 2007–2014 by births per occurrence within each country. Long series: United States 1969–1988 and 1994–2014 (two compilations of federal records (data-CDCbirths, then FiveThirtyEight); 1989–1993 are outside both files); Metropolitan France 1968–2023 (INSEE T79jnais); England and Wales 1995–2025 (ONS Table 12); Denmark 2007–2025 (Statistics Denmark FODDAG). Each yearly index is births on the date divided by that year’s births per day in the same series.
Ranks and indices are within one country and one window. The pages for December 25 and January 1 carry the U.S. figures in full.
Every figure above comes from the administrative records named here, at the granularity those records publish: a day, a month or a year. Coverage and definitions differ between countries and eras, so two sources are combined only where their documentation states the windows are separate, and the page where that happens says so.
