What is Christmas like in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi?

Is Christmas a holiday in Vietnam?

No. Article 112 of Vietnam's 2019 Labour Code lists the paid public holidays: New Year's Day, Tet (Lunar New Year), Hung Kings Commemoration Day, 30 April, 1 May and National Day on 2 September. Christmas is not among them. Friday 25 December 2026 is a normal working day: banks, offices, shops and sights open as usual.

For Vietnam's Catholic community it is a major religious feast. For many more people, especially the young in the big cities, Christmas Eve is a night out: decorations, photos at the cathedrals, and crowds on motorbikes.

The holiday that does close Vietnam is Tet, which in 2027 starts on 6 February; see our Tet 2027 guide. For Christmas closures elsewhere in Asia and Europe, see what's open on Christmas Day abroad.

Ho Chi Minh City: Notre-Dame and Tan Dinh

Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon stands at the top of Dong Khoi Street, beside the Central Post Office. Its restoration began in July 2017 under a Belgian conservation firm; the original target was 2021. On 19 March 2026 two gold-plated steel crosses, each 3.73 m tall, went back on the twin towers at about 60 m, according to the Vietnam News Agency, which puts completion at around 2027 or later. A travel guide updated in September 2026 still described the building as partly covered in scaffolding.

None of that has stopped Christmas. On Christmas Eve 2025, VOV (the national broadcaster) reported crowds filling the streets leading to the cathedral and more than 1,000 parishioners filling every seat for Mass, with foreign visitors among them. Dantri reported heavy traffic around the cathedral and traffic police directing vehicles. The building is strung with lights for the season.

Tan Dinh Church, the pink church at 289 Hai Ba Trung, dates from 1876 and is one of the city's most photographed buildings. It is decorated for Christmas and its Christmas Eve Mass is also crowded. Vietcetera notes it is closed to sightseers on Sundays.

A note on names: Vietnam abolished district-level government on 1 July 2025, so "District 1" and "District 3" no longer exist on paper, but hotels, maps and locals still use them. The cathedral area is what most listings still call District 1. See how many days in Ho Chi Minh City and our Ho Chi Minh City guide.

Hanoi: St Joseph's Cathedral and the Old Quarter

St Joseph's Cathedral on Nha Chung Street, a neo-Gothic church from the 1880s a short walk west of Hoan Kiem Lake, is the centre of Christmas in Hanoi. On Christmas Eve 2025, Dantri reported large numbers of worshippers, visitors and young people gathering for services, an arts programme starting by 8pm, and the surrounding streets increasingly congested. VOV described traffic jams on the roads into the centre and thousands on the Hoan Kiem Lake pedestrian streets from early evening.

• Hang Ma Street in the Old Quarter turns into the city's Christmas shop from November, selling trees, lights and ornaments; Hanoi Times reports it packed in the weeks before Christmas and New Year.

• St Anthony's Ham Long Church is the other Hanoi church decorated for the season. In 2025 the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra gave free Christmas charity concerts at St Joseph's (26 December) and Ham Long (27 December), according to Vietcetera; look for a 2026 repeat.

• Weather: Hanoi is cool in December, with nights around 12 to 16 °C, so bring a jacket for standing outside.

For a quieter, more devotional Christmas, Phat Diem Cathedral in Ninh Binh province, about 120 km south of Hanoi, is a 19th-century stone church built in the style of a Vietnamese pagoda whose midnight Mass draws thousands. We spent 4 days in Ninh Binh in April 2023; see our Ninh Binh guide. For Hanoi bases, see where to stay in Hanoi.

Mass times and etiquette

Parishes post their Christmas schedules in December, on the church noticeboard and social media pages. Expect several Masses on the evening of the 24th rather than one at midnight; many city churches hold the main vigil around 22:00, and there are Masses on the 25th too. Check the 2026 notice rather than relying on last year's times.

Anyone may attend. Etiquette for visitors:

• Arrive early: 60 to 90 minutes before for the main Christmas Eve Mass if you want to be inside; otherwise you will be standing in the square.

• Dress: shoulders and knees covered, no beachwear. Our Vietnam temple and church dress code covers it.

• During Mass: no flash, no filming, do not move around for photos, and stand and sit with the congregation.

• Communion is for Catholics; if you are not one, stay in your seat.

• Outside: the square is a party, but the inside is a service. Take photos of the lights from the street, not of people praying. Our what is considered rude in Vietnam covers the rest.

Planning the trip

• Hotels: one travel guide says prices in central Hanoi and Saigon rise by 20 to 50% over 24 and 25 December; book early if you want to stay within walking distance of the cathedrals, since streets around them are gridlocked on the night.

• Getting around: walk. Taxis and Grab are slow or unable to reach the cathedral streets on Christmas Eve, and traffic police are out directing vehicles as the crowds build.

• Safety: watch bags and phones in the crowds, and watch for motorbikes on the pavements. Our is Vietnam safe to visit has general advice.

• Combining cities: Hanoi is cool and Saigon warm and dry in late December. Our 2-week Vietnam itinerary runs between the two, and our best places to spend Christmas abroad compares Vietnam with other warm options.

If you are planning New Year as well, 1 January is a public holiday in Vietnam, and Tet follows five weeks later.

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