Christmas and the holidays in the US Virgin Islands
Written by Virgin Islands Villas · Updated Oct 10, 2026 · How this was checked
Christmas in the Virgin Islands comes as the dry season starts: December at the St. Thomas airport station averages 85 degrees and 2.9 inches of rain, per NOAA's 1991–2020 normals, against November's 6.1. Which holiday week suits you is a trade between rain, ships and the territory's calendar. Below: each week from Thanksgiving to spring break, with 2026–27 dates.
| Hurricane season ends | November 30 The Atlantic season runs June 1 to November 30 (the National Hurricane Center, checked 2026-10-09). |
|---|---|
| December weather | 85° high, 75° low, 2.9 in of rain Cyril E. King Airport station, St. Thomas, NOAA 1991–2020 normals; eight wet days in an average December. |
| Wettest holiday month | November, 6.1 in over 10 wet days Same station and normals; the Coral Bay gauge on St. John records 7.2 in. |
| Christmas Second Day | December 26, a legal holiday Listed with Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Three Kings' Day by the Government of the US Virgin Islands, release of December 22, 2025. |
| Three Kings' Day | January 6, a legal holiday Wednesday in 2027 by the calendar; a legal holiday per the Government of the US Virgin Islands, release of December 22, 2025. |
| Transfer Day | March 31 Marks the transfer from Denmark in 1917; the government marked the 109th on March 31, 2026. |
| Cruise calls, December 2026 | 36 at Crown Bay By our count of the rows on the Virgin Islands Port Authority's fiscal 2027 schedule, read 2026-10-09, subject to change; the Havensight dock is not on it. |
| Holiday ferry timetable | None posted Transportation Services of St. John's schedule page, checked 2026-10-09, showed only its off-season timetable, which usually gives way to a winter one in November; check it again before the holidays. |
What the weather does in each holiday week
The holiday weeks run from the wettest month on the record into the driest. Thanksgiving falls in November, which at the Cyril E. King Airport station averages 6.1 inches of rain over ten wet days, per NOAA's 1991–2020 normals; by March the same station records 1.9 inches over four.
| Holiday window | 2026–27 dates | High / low | Rain | Wet days | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thanksgiving | Nov 26, 2026 | 87° / 77° | 6.1 in | 10 | 84° |
| Christmas to New Year | Dec 24, 2026 – Jan 1, 2027 | 85° / 75° | 2.9 in | 8 | 82° |
| Three Kings' Day | Jan 6, 2027 | 84° / 74° | 2.6 in | 6 | 81° |
| Spring break and Easter | March 2027; Easter Mar 28 | 85° / 74° | 1.9 in | 4 | 81° |
These are the month's normals, not the week's. The Coral Bay gauge on St. John records more in both early windows, 7.2 inches in November and 4.5 in December. The sea column is sea-surface readings, 2016–2025, off Charlotte Amalie.
If rain decides it, Thanksgiving is the gamble and spring break the surest week.
Is hurricane season over by Thanksgiving?
Not quite. The Atlantic season runs from June 1 to November 30 by the National Hurricane Center's calendar, so Thanksgiving, on November 26 in 2026, falls in its last week.
In the 34 seasons from 1991 to 2024, one tropical system came within 100 km of St. John in November: Lenny, a hurricane in 1999 that tracked east, against the season's usual direction. December's record holds one more, not a hurricane, and January to April hold none. Those counts are ours, from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 track records.
The tradeoff: a Thanksgiving trip carries a small, real chance of a storm, and spring break carries none on the record.
Which public holidays fall between Thanksgiving and Easter?
The Government of the US Virgin Islands listed Christmas Day, Christmas Second Day, New Year's Day and Three Kings' Day as the territory's recognized legal holidays on December 22, 2025.
| Day | 2026–27 date | What the government says |
|---|---|---|
| Thanksgiving | Thu, Nov 26, 2026 | In 2025 the governor gave nonessential government staff the Friday after it as well |
| Christmas Day | Fri, Dec 25, 2026 | A legal holiday |
| Christmas Second Day | Sat, Dec 26, 2026 | A legal holiday; it fell on a Friday in 2025 |
| New Year's Day | Fri, Jan 1, 2027 | A legal holiday |
| Three Kings' Day | Wed, Jan 6, 2027 | A legal holiday, and the end of the season |
| Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Monday | Mar 25, 26 and 29, 2027 | All government offices closed on the three days in 2026 |
| Transfer Day | Wed, Mar 31, 2027 | Marks the transfer from Denmark on March 31, 1917 |
Christmas Second Day is the day the British Virgin Islands call Boxing Day. The governor's office announces each season's schedule in December, as it did on December 22, 2025, so the observed day for 2026's Saturday holiday is not yet published.
Easter falls on March 28, 2027 by the Western church calendar, so Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday are March 25, 26 and 29, in the middle of spring break, and Transfer Day, which the government marks each March 31, comes two days later.
What closes on a holiday, and do the ferries run?
Government offices close, in the government's own words: its release of March 30, 2026 said all Virgin Islands Government offices would close for Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday. No government page lists which shops, restaurants or tour boats close, so ask the owner of your villa which of their usual places open on Christmas Second Day and Three Kings' Day.
The early boats are the ones a holiday takes. As of October 9, 2026, the Virgin Islands Port Authority's schedule marks Love City Car Ferries' 6:15 am and 7 am car-barge sailings from Red Hook and Global Marine's 5:30 am sailing as not running on weekends or holidays. Transportation Services of St. John posts no holiday timetable for the passenger ferry; its first Red Hook boat, at 5:30 am, is marked Monday to Friday only, on an off-season timetable that a winter one usually replaces in early November; read the operator's page again before a holiday crossing.
On Christmas morning or New Year's Day, plan on a later boat than the first, and read the timetable again in the week before you travel.
How busy is St. Thomas at Christmas?
Busy at the piers for the month, quiet on the day itself. By our count of the rows on the Virgin Islands Port Authority's Crown Bay schedule for fiscal 2027, read October 9, 2026, 36 cruise calls are due in December 2026 and 35 in January 2027, against 22 in November, 25 in February and 29 in March.
No ship is due at Crown Bay on Christmas Day or December 26. Two are due on Christmas Eve, two on New Year's Eve, one on New Year's Day, one on Thanksgiving and two on Three Kings' Day. The schedule is subject to change and covers Crown Bay alone, not the Havensight dock.
Of the holidays, Christmas Day and Christmas Second Day are the two with no ship due at Crown Bay.
Christmas, New Year or spring break: how to choose
Choose by what you will trade: rain, ships or the holiday calendar.
Thanksgiving week brings the most rain of any holiday window, the last days of hurricane season and the fewest ships at Crown Bay. Suits a family whose one long weekend is Thanksgiving and who will take wet afternoons for it.
Christmas to Three Kings' Day brings dry-season weather, four legal holidays in thirteen days and the busiest month of the year at Crown Bay. Suits a family whose dates are set by the school year and who want the holidays to last: the territory keeps them for longer than the mainland does.
Spring break and Easter bring the fewest wet days of the year, no storm on the record and, in 2027, three government holidays in one week. Suits anyone who can choose their week and wants the surest weather.
Whichever week you pick, check the ferry timetable and the Crown Bay schedule again the month before, because both change.
Questions people ask
- What is the weather in St. Thomas in November?
- Warm and the wettest of the year. November averages 6.1 inches of rain over ten wet days at the Cyril E. King Airport station, per NOAA's 1991–2020 normals, with a high of 87 and a low of 77. Hurricane season ends on November 30 by the National Hurricane Center's calendar, so Thanksgiving week, November 26 in 2026, falls in its last days.
- What is the weather in St. Thomas in December?
- Drier and a little cooler than November. December's afternoon high at the airport station averages 85 degrees and the night 75, per NOAA's 1991–2020 normals, with 2.9 inches of rain over eight wet days, less than half of November's total. The sea off Charlotte Amalie runs about 82.
- Is St. Thomas warm in January?
- Yes. January is the coolest month on the record and still averages a high of 84 degrees and a low of 74 at the airport station, per NOAA's 1991–2020 normals, six degrees cooler by day than July. The sea off Charlotte Amalie averages about 81.
- What is the weather in St. Thomas in March?
- Dry and warm. March averages 1.9 inches of rain over four wet days at the airport station, the fewest wet days of any month, with a high of 85 and a low of 74, per NOAA's 1991–2020 normals. No tropical system passed within 100 km of St. Thomas in March in the 34 seasons to 2024. In 2027, spring break meets Easter, with Holy Thursday on March 25.
Facts checked against the Government of the US Virgin Islands, NOAA, the National Hurricane Center, the Virgin Islands Port Authority and Transportation Services of St. John. Checked October 2026.