NFL on Christmas Day

Games held by the National Football League (NFL) on Christmas Day, December 25, were historically an infrequent part of the league’s schedule, but have been an annual occurrence since 2020. Prior to then the NFL had avoided annual Christmas Day games because the holiday could fall on a day in which the league does not normally schedule games, in contrast to Thanksgiving Day games since Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday. The NFL held two Divisional Playoff games on Christmas Day in 1971 when the regular season only spanned a 14-week period. This proved unpopular, and the league avoided Christmas Day games until 1989 to 2019, when the NFL typically scheduled games on Christmas Day if it fell on a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Since 2020, the league has scheduled at least one Christmas game every season, even when the holiday falls on a day in which the NFL does not usually schedule games.