December is Guatemala’s dry, festive and busiest month. The season opens with the Quema del Diablo on Monday 7 December at 18:00 and closes with New Year’s Eve on Thursday 31 December; both 24 and 31 December are paid half-days from noon. This page puts every dated December 2026 event in one table, adds weather by altitude and crowd figures, and sends you to the detailed event pages for programmes and logistics.

For the year-round comparison, see the best time to visit Guatemala by month. Staying only in Antigua? Use Antigua Guatemala in December.

TL;DR: Dry weather in the highlands and on the Pacific coast; cool highland nights. Key dates: 7 Dec (Quema del Diablo), 8 Dec (Inmaculada), 12 Dec (Guadalupe), 16-24 Dec (posadas), 21 Dec (Chichicastenango), 24 Dec midnight (Nochebuena), 25 Dec (Christmas), 31 Dec (New Year’s Eve). Half-day closures from 12:00 on the 24th and 31st; banks closed to the public on the 31st.

The December 2026 calendar

Weekdays are calendar calculations. Where a 2026 programme has not been published, the date is the recurring one and the event page says what is still missing.

Date (2026)EventWhat the date establishes
Sunday 29 NovemberFirst Sunday of AdventChurch calendar, per Prensa Libre’s 2026 Advent guide
To Wednesday 6 January 2027Árbol Gallo lights and decorationsSeason announced for 2026; free entry to the lighting
Monday 7 December, from 18:00Quema del Diablo, nationwideFixed date, eve of the Inmaculada; 18:00 is the customary start
Tuesday 8 DecemberInmaculada ConcepciónFeast day; not on the national holiday list, a local holiday only where it is the patron feast
Saturday 12 DecemberVirgen de GuadalupeFixed feast day; not a paid holiday
Wednesday 16 to Thursday 24 DecemberLas PosadasTraditional window; ask the organising parish for its route
Monday 21 DecemberSanto Tomás, ChichicastenangoMain day of the patron feast in the municipal cultural calendar
Thursday 24 DecemberNochebuena; paid half-day from 12:00Families wait for midnight, then fireworks
Friday 25 DecemberChristmas DayFull paid holiday
Thursday 31 DecemberNew Year’s Eve; paid half-day from 12:00Banks closed to the public; San Silvestre race listed in Guatemala City

The four nights to plan around

7 December. Devil figures and bonfires burn across the country from early evening. After the 2025 Quema, AGN reported an unusual rise in fine particles over metropolitan Guatemala City between 19:00 and 23:00, so expect smoke if you have asthma. Rules and places are on the Quema del Diablo page.

12 December. In 2025 the city’s traffic police announced a full closure of the streets around the Santuario de Guadalupe in zona 1 for the feast day. The 2025 route and closures are on the Guadalupe page.

24 December. Nochebuena is the main Christmas night: dinner, then fireworks at midnight. Christmas in Guatemala covers food, closures and the midnight time difference for family abroad.

31 December. For the arrival of 2026, Antigua’s Plaza Mayor was scheduled to host a party with live music from 23:00 and fireworks; the programme for 31 December 2026 was not published as of 4 November 2026. See New Year’s Eve in Guatemala.

December weather by altitude

These are the December values from our parent guide’s 1996-2025 Open-Meteo ERA5 reanalysis series: average daily high/low in °C, with °F in brackets, with the published rounding. They are historical model averages, not a forecast or official station normals.

Destination and elevationDecember high/lowShare of the year’s rain
Antigua (1,540 m)24/14 (75/57)1%
Lake Atitlán, Panajachel (1,580 m)22/15 (72/59)1%
Xela (2,360 m)18/11 (65/51)2%
Tikal (300 m)27/19 (81/66)5%
Livingston (sea level)26/21 (78/70)7%
Monterrico (sea level)31/22 (88/72)1%

The rain column is a share of annual rainfall, not a chance of rain. The highlands and Monterrico are near their driest; Tikal and Livingston still get showers, so carry a rain layer there.

Closures, money and crowds

  • Half-days. Article 127 of the Labour Code gives paid leave from 12:00 on 24 and 31 December and the whole of 25 December; see Guatemala holidays 2026.
  • Banks. The bank regulator’s 2026 calendar says banks do not open to the public on 31 December, the year-end closing day. Get cash before then.
  • US Embassy. Its 2026 list closes it for half of 24 December, all of 25 December and half of 31 December; see US Embassy Guatemala holidays.
  • Aguinaldo. Decreto 76-78 requires employers to pay half of the year-end bonus in the first half of December and the rest in the second half of January.
  • Crowds. INGUAT counted 370,164 non-resident visitors in December 2025, the highest month of the year. Our tourism statistics attribute that peak to diaspora return travel rather than conventional tourism, so compare actual room quotes for your dates instead of assuming every town is full.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

What is on in Guatemala in December 2026?

The Quema del Diablo on Monday 7 December from 18:00, the Inmaculada Concepción on the 8th, the Virgen de Guadalupe on Saturday 12 December, posadas from 16 to 24 December, the Santo Tomás main day in Chichicastenango on the 21st, Nochebuena at midnight on the 24th, Christmas Day on the 25th and New Year’s Eve on Thursday 31 December.

Are 24 and 31 December holidays in Guatemala?

Half-days. Article 127 of the Labour Code gives private-sector workers paid leave from 12:00 on 24 December and on 31 December, and the whole of 25 December. The bank regulator’s 2026 calendar says banks do not open to the public on 31 December.

What is the weather like in Guatemala in December?

Dry in the highlands and on the Pacific coast. In the 1996-2025 reanalysis series used by our month-by-month guide, December averages 24/14°C in Antigua, 18/11°C in Xela, 27/19°C at Tikal and 31/22°C in Monterrico. Highland nights are cool, so pack a warm layer.

Is December busy in Guatemala?

It is the busiest month on INGUAT’s 2025 count, with 370,164 non-resident visitors. That figure includes diaspora return travel, so it does not tell you how full a particular town or hotel will be.

Is the US Embassy open over Christmas 2026?

Its 2026 list closes it for a half day on Thursday 24 December, all of Friday 25 December and a half day on Thursday 31 December.