Normally, English native speakers use on and at with the festive holiday in the following manner
- We open our gifts on Christmas morning.
- We're going away at Christmas
The preposition on is used for dates, days of the week, and names of public holidays
e.g., Many florists make a profit on Valentine's day
But if a holiday covers a period of two or more days then the preposition at is used
- Children often hope for snow at Christmas
- We always stuff ourselves with chocolate at Easter
Recently, I discovered that in some parts of the US this is not always the case
While “on Christmas day” is hardly unusual, I would say that just “on Christmas” is the more frequently-heard expression, by a considerable margin. Might be a cultural thing, though (my experience is the American Northeast for the most part)
and in an old EL&U answer this phrase was submitted
We got together on Christmas for dinner and a gift exchange.
I also found supporting reference
*Note that in some varieties of English people say "on the weekend" and "on Christmas".
- Where do native English speakers omit Day/day and instead say on Christmas?
- Does on Christmas refer to 25th December, or is it also used to cover the entire holiday season?
This question is related, and inspired by the ELL question:
What is the difference between 'at Christmas' and 'on Christmas'?
Best Answer
I'm an American, and I always use 'on' with a holiday, never 'at'. I've lived in different parts of the US and Canada, and I can't recall hearing a North American say 'at Christmas'. My impression is that this is very much a cultural difference in usage.
It seems to me that we only add 'day' if we want to clarify that we're referring specifically to December 25th, but often temporal context makes it clear enough that we don't need to specify. For example, if I ask someone who lives abroad whether they're going home for Christmas, they'll know I mean the holiday period and not just the day, since almost no one would travel internationally for a single day's visit. If my friend lives in the same town as her parents and I ask her whether she's going to her parents' house for Christmas, she will know I mean the day, since it's unlikely that someone would spend a week with their parents when they have their own home nearby.