December 31 is the final day of the year — day 365, or 366 in a leap year — with no days remaining after it. It is New Year’s Eve. It falls on a Friday in 2027 and a Sunday in 2028.
In most years December 31 is an ordinary working day in the United States, with the markets trading a full session.
2027 is one of the exceptions: because New Year’s Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, the federal observance shifts back to Friday, December 31, 2027, making New Year’s Eve a federal closure and moving the last trading day of the year to Thursday, December 30.
Table of Contents
What day of the week is December 31?
December 31 is day 365 in a common year and day 366 in a leap year.
| Year | Day of week |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Thursday |
| 2027 | Friday |
| 2028 | Sunday |
| 2029 | Monday |
| 2030 | Tuesday |
| 2031 | Wednesday |
| 2032 | Friday |
| 2033 | Saturday |
| 2034 | Sunday |
| 2035 | Monday |
December 31 becomes a federal closure only when January 1 of the following year falls on a Saturday — roughly one year in seven. That applies in 2027 and again in 2032.
Observances on December 31
| Observance | Scope | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Eve | International | Not a federal holiday in its own right |
| Hogmanay | Scotland | January 1 and 2 are both bank holidays |
| Ōmisoka | Japan | The second-most important day in the Japanese year |
| Feast of Saint Sylvester | Christian | The name used for New Year’s Eve across much of Europe |
| Hanukkah, some years | Jewish | Falls within Hanukkah in 2027 |
| Kwanzaa | United States | Sixth day of seven |
Historical events on December 31
192 — The Roman emperor Commodus was strangled in his bath, after surviving an earlier attempt to poison him.
1600 — Elizabeth I granted a royal charter to the London merchants trading to the East Indies, creating the East India Company (History.com; Wikipedia).
1775 — British forces repulsed a Continental Army attack on Quebec led by Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold. Montgomery was killed (Associated Press, Today in History).
1862 — Abraham Lincoln signed the act admitting West Virginia to the Union (Associated Press).
1879 — Thomas Edison gave the first public demonstration of his incandescent light at Menlo Park, New Jersey, illuminating some 40 bulbs. The Pennsylvania Railroad ran special trains to carry the crowds (History.com; Associated Press).
1904 — Times Square held its first New Year’s Eve celebration, with an estimated 200,000 people attending (Associated Press).
1923 — The BBC broadcast the chimes of Big Ben for the first time, to mark the new year (Wikipedia).
1935 — Charles Darrow received a patent for the board game Monopoly.
1946 — President Truman formally proclaimed the end of hostilities in the Second World War (Associated Press).
1972 — Roberto Clemente, aged 38, was killed when a plane he had chartered to carry relief supplies to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua crashed shortly after taking off from Puerto Rico (Associated Press).
1974 — Private United States citizens were permitted to buy and own gold for the first time in more than forty years (Associated Press).
1999 — The United States handed control of the Panama Canal to Panama under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, and Boris Yeltsin resigned as president of Russia, leaving Vladimir Putin acting president (History.com; Associated Press).
2019 — Wuhan’s municipal health authority reported a cluster of pneumonia cases, the first official notice of what became COVID-19 (History.com).
Two dates on this page that sources disagree about
Both are worth stating rather than silently resolving.
The Marshall Plan’s expiry. One Associated Press listing places it on December 31, 1951 and another on December 31, 1961, both otherwise identical. The Economic Cooperation Administration wound up at the end of 1951, so 1951 is the defensible date and 1961 appears to be a typographical error propagated between editions.
Ellis Island’s opening. Some sources date the immigration depot’s opening to December 31, 1891 and others to January 1, 1892. The distinction is between the facility being completed and its formal opening, when Annie Moore became the first immigrant processed. This page treats January 1, 1892 as the opening, consistent with the Associated Press and History.com, and the January 1 page records it there.
Notable births on December 31
| Year | Person | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| 1720 | Charles Edward Stuart | Jacobite claimant, “Bonnie Prince Charlie” |
| 1869 | Henri Matisse | French artist |
| 1937 | Anthony Hopkins | Welsh actor |
| 1941 | Alex Ferguson | Scottish football manager |
| 1943 | John Denver | American singer |
| 1946 | Diane von Fürstenberg | Belgian-American fashion designer |
Zodiac sign and birthstone for December 31
December 31 falls under Capricorn, which begins at the December solstice and runs to about January 19.
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Zodiac sign | Capricorn |
| Sign dates | About December 22 to January 19 |
| Element | Earth |
| Birthstones | Turquoise, zircon, tanzanite |
| Birth flowers | Narcissus and holly |
How many days until December 31?
The next December 31 falls on a Friday in 2027 and is a federal holiday that year, observing New Year’s Day 2028.
December 31 is day 365 of a common year with nothing following it. Under ISO 8601, however, it does not always close the ISO year: when January 1 falls on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, December 31 belongs to ISO week 1 of the following year. In 2027 it sits in ISO week 52 of 2027, so the two align.
Frequently asked questions
Is December 31, 2027 a holiday?
Yes for the federal government, no for the stock market. Friday, December 31, 2027 is the federal observance of New Year’s Day 2028, so federal offices, banks and the postal service close. But NYSE and Nasdaq trade a full session: under NYSE Rule 7.2 the exchange does not take the Friday off when that Friday ends a monthly or yearly accounting period (NYSE).
Is New Year’s Eve normally a federal holiday?
No. December 31 has no federal status of its own in any year. It closes offices only when January 1 of the following year falls on a Saturday and the observance shifts back — roughly one year in seven, next in 2027 and then 2032.
What is the last day of the year in ISO week terms?
Not always December 31. ISO 8601 assigns week 1 to the week containing the year’s first Thursday, so when January 1 falls on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, December 31 of the preceding year belongs to ISO week 1 of the new year. In 2027 December 31 falls in ISO week 52 of 2027, so calendar and ISO years end together.
