Offline celebrations: how Christmas, NYE, and Lunar New Year festivities shape online behavior

Now that 2025 has been here for a few weeks and 2024 has closed with a variety of year-end traditions — from Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations to New Year’s Eve (NYE) countdowns, as well as celebrations of Orthodox Christmas, and Lunar/Chinese New Year — let’s examine how these events have shaped online behavior across continents and cultures. Reflecting on Christmas and NYE 2024 provides insights into how these trends compared with those of the previous year, as detailed in an earlier blog.

One notable finding is the remarkable consistency in human online patterns from one year to the next, a trend that persists despite cultural differences among countries. Data from over 50 countries reveal how people celebrated in 2024–2025, offering a timely reminder of typical holiday trends. While Christmas remains a dominant influence in many regions, other cultural and religious events — such as Hanukkah and local festivities — also shape online habits where Western traditions hold less sway.

In regions where Christmas is deeply rooted, Internet traffic dips significantly during Christmas Eve dinners, midnight masses, morning gift exchanges, and Christmas Day lunches, a pattern evident in both our previous and current analyses.

This analysis focuses exclusively on non-bot Internet traffic, filtering out automated activity to highlight genuine human behavior during the most recent holiday season. Before going into specific countries, here’s a global hourly snapshot (UTC-based) of Christmas and New Year’s Eve 2024 traffic from the Cloudflare Radar Data Explorer: 

This worldwide perspective captures notable drops across a 23-hour window, from New Zealand to Hawaii. Globally, December 25 saw a 19% drop in traffic from the previous week, followed by December 24 with a 14% drop. This holiday period also included the four days with the lowest global traffic during the period between October 1, 2024, and February 6, 2025. In descending order, these days were: December 25, December 24, January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2024.

Some key takeaways:

• Europe: Christmas Eve drops in Internet traffic reached up to 67% (seen in Denmark; Spain reached 66%).

• Americas: December 25 was key, with drops ranging from 26% in the US and up to 70% at midnight in Argentina.

• Regional timing differs: Nordic countries on Christmas Eve disconnect earlier at around 18:00, Southern Europe at 21:00-22:00, and Latin America even later.

• New Year's shows worldwide impact, strongest in Latin America: a 73% drop in Chile, followed by 68% drop in Argentina.

• Lunar New Year: January 29 is a peak offline moment, with drops of 25% in Hong Kong, 23% in Singapore, and 24% in Vietnam.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all times used in this blog post are local ones; in countries with several timezones, we’re using the timezone where more people live. For the US, Eastern time is used.

In this analysis, we apply the same methods as our previous blog post to rank countries and regions by their lowest holiday traffic dates, showing each day’s percentage drop. Many locations, such as the United States, experience clear dips on December 24 and 25 as people disconnect for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations. In contrast, some regions show smaller declines on December 31 as the New Year approaches. The order and magnitude of these drops vary by country, reflecting cultural nuances — some nations register their largest drop on Christmas Eve, others on Christmas Day, and still others exhibit unique patterns around New Year’s Eve or January 1.

Below is a world map highlighting where traffic dropped the most on December 24 or 25; darker colors indicate larger drops based on our analysis.

In the following table, we provide more details than can be shown in the map. The data focuses only on locations that had their lowest traffic days between December 24-25 and December 31-January 1, along with the respective percentage drop on each of those days compared to the previous week (where applicable).

Top days with the lowest Internet traffic in December 2024 - January 2025

(with respective percentage drops, if any, from the previous week)

In cultures with a strong Christmas tradition — mostly in the West — people generally go offline on Christmas Eve (December 24) or Christmas Day (December 25). In regions where Christmas is less culturally significant, key offline moments occur on other dates, such as December 31 or January 1.

In Europe, most countries (including Denmark, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Finland, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Poland, Sweden, Austria, the United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, and Romania) experience their largest traffic drop on December 24, making Christmas Eve the primary offline moment. Some countries also exhibit a less significant drop in traffic on December 25 or December 31.

North America and Latin America display similar patterns, with the United States, Canada, and Mexico showing the largest drop on December 25. In Latin America — specifically in Argentina, Chile, and Colombia — December 25 also sees a significant decline, though in some cases January 1 emerges as a key offline moment, indicating slight variations in local celebration timing.

In Asia, the traffic drops are milder. For example, Japan experienced only modest declines on December 24 and 25, while in the Philippines, January 1 recorded a 3% drop compared with December 25, which had a 6% drop from the previous week. In Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, the influence of Lunar/Chinese New Year is more pronounced; however, Christmas Day 2024 still registered noticeable declines of 12%, 13%, and 9% in these locations, respectively. Meanwhile, in Indonesia and Turkey, December 31 is their peak low-traffic day, suggesting that Christmas plays a less central role in their offline behavior.

As an example, here’s the US perspective from Cloudflare Radar Data Explorer, where the drop in traffic during Christmas 2024 and New Year’s 2025 is evident:

Comparing Christmas 2023 with 2024, most European regions experienced a stronger traffic drop on their key Christmas day — whether December 24 or December 25 — than in the previous year. The ranking of the days with the lowest traffic sometimes shifts, with new dates such as December 23 or January 1 entering the top three. In North and Latin America, while December 24 and 25 remain important, January 1 has also emerged in several cases. 

In countries that celebrate Orthodox Christmas (January 7), Internet traffic follows a distinct pattern. During the December 25 Christmas period, the drops are relatively modest — for example, Russia sees a 6% decrease on December 25, while Romania and Ukraine register declines of 16% on December 24 and 12–13% on December 25. However, because traffic falls significantly on December 30–31 — even more so than on December 24–25 — the levels on January 6–7 are considerably higher compared with the previous week. In fact, a notable surge occurs on January 7 compared with December 31, with traffic increasing by 30% in Russia, 32% in Romania, 24% in Ukraine, 31% in Belarus, and 15% in Kazakhstan.

Below is a daily chart of Internet traffic in Russia, which clearly shows the December 30–31 drop and a strong rebound in the following days of the new year. Notably, there is a slight decline on January 6, 2025 — the Orthodox Christmas Eve — registering a 4% drop compared with the previous day.

Not every country’s December revolves around Christmas. Hanukkah’s timing changes each year, influencing when people log off. In 2024, Hanukkah started on the evening of December 25, leading to a 5% drop in traffic in Israel, followed by 4% drops on the next two days. (Hanukkah lasted until January 2, 2025.) Looking at a more granular view, traffic dropped ~15% between 14:45 and 20:00 in Israel on December 25. The chart below highlights the days that Hanukkah was celebrated.

In 2023, Hanukkah began on December 7, leading to an 8% traffic drop in Israel that day and a 7% decline on the following days. More granular data shows that on December 7, traffic dropped the most around 17:00, reaching as much as 17%.

In Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, and Indonesia, the lowest traffic days don’t align with December 24-25. In those regions, Ramadan is a much more impactful event, as we’ve noted in previous blog posts. Meanwhile, in other regions such as China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, and South Korea, Lunar New Year plays a much bigger role, as we’ll analyze in more detail below.

Now, let’s focus on a more granular perspective of these trends, showing the impact of Christmas dinners and lunches, and also New Year’s Eve drops in traffic.

The Christmas 2024 data show that in Europe, as we saw in the previous year, the stronger traffic drop still occurs during Christmas Eve dinner. In Spain, for example, there is a 66% drop compared with the previous week at 21:45, while the morning and lunch periods on Christmas Day see further declines of 55% at 08:00 and 47% at 15:30. Denmark recorded a 67% drop at 18:45 and a 50% drop the next morning at 07:00. Poland and the Czech Republic experience steep dinner declines, with drops as high as 60% (17:15) and 55% (17:45) respectively, followed by substantial drops in the early morning. France, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany follow similar patterns, with dinnertime drops ranging between 46% and 57%, along with additional significant declines during the morning or lunchtime hours.

A closer look at timing reveals interesting regional differences also related to typical times for dinner. In Nordic countries such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Poland, the Christmas Eve dinnertime drop in traffic happens relatively early — Denmark’s is at 18:45, and Norway’s occurs around 17:45 to 18:15, with Sweden and Finland also showing early declines. A similar pattern appears in the Czech Republic (17:45). Some countries show mixed trends, such as the UK, which sees a 34% drop in traffic both at 16:15 and 20:30, or Switzerland, with 47% at 19:00 and 50% at 21:00, and Germany, with 46% at 19:15.

In contrast, many Latin and Southern European countries experience peak drops later in the evening (this includes Latin America, as we’ll highlight below). Spain, for instance, reaches its maximum drop at 21:45, while Italy and Portugal see the largest declines at 21:15. Greece records its biggest drop between 21:45 and 22:45, at 37%. Romania and France, for example, are slightly earlier, at 20:45. These early or late traffic drops reflect local dinner traditions, which vary by region.

In the Americas, holiday patterns continue to reflect a mix of cultural traditions. In the United States, Christmas Eve sees a 30% drop between 19:45 and 20:45, aligning with family gatherings, while Christmas Day mornings record a 39% decline at 09:30 and a 33% drop at 13:15, highlighting the quiet start to the day. It’s similar in Canada, both in the drop (35%) and the time (20:30), but Mexico aligns more closely with South American countries.

In Latin America, Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) remains the key period of reduced Internet usage, and the following trends are consistent with Christmas 2023. Significant traffic declines align with late-night traditions like the Midnight Toast (in Argentina, the late-night feast is especially popular) and Misa de Gallo (Midnight Mass). For example:

• Chile: -62% at 22:45, -63% at midnight (December 25)

• Argentina: -60% at 22:15, -70% at midnight

• Colombia: -49% at 22:15, -34% at midnight

• Peru: -47% at 22:30, -53% at midnight

• Mexico: -48% at 22:30, -40% at midnight

• Brazil: -46% at 22:00

In the Asia Pacific region and other parts of the world, the reduction in online activity is noticeably milder. Countries such as Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand record much smaller drops at Christmas Eve dinner and in the morning. For instance, Japan’s dinner drop is only 11%, while South Korea’s is 18%.

Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Philippines show more variability, with some moderate dinnertime drops but stronger declines later in the day in places like Singapore and Hong Kong. New Zealand and Australia, in the Southern Hemisphere, experienced a 29% and 30% drop respectively at dinner followed by even deeper declines in the morning and early afternoon.

Turning to the Middle East and Africa, the trends reflect regional cultural differences. In these areas the reduction in online activity is generally less dramatic than in predominantly Christian regions. Nigeria, for example, shows a 20% drop at dinner (with additional declines at later times). Our analysis also includes other Middle Eastern locations such as the United Arab Emirates, which registers a relatively modest -12% drop at Christmas Eve dinner with deeper declines later in the day.

In previous blog posts, we have shown how events like Ramadan clearly impact Internet traffic in countries with large Muslim populations. One example from our Year in Review 2024 highlights Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, where traffic dropped during Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of Ramadan (April 9-10, 2024).

Boxing Day on December 26 shows a sharp rebound in online activity after the significant drop in traffic during Christmas. In the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, traffic recovered as people return online after the Christmas break, even if daily traffic in the UK and Canada compared with the previous week was still lower -2% and -3% respectively, it was much higher than Christmas Day (+42% in the UK and +24% in Canada). Traditionally associated with charitable activities, family gatherings, and shopping, the day sees traffic spikes across these regions:

Here is the list of locations that saw a clear drop in traffic on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day in the morning or around lunch. We selected the time (morning or lunch) with the largest drop compared to the previous week for further analysis. The list is ordered by the Christmas Eve dinner drop. Countries like Russia (where Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas later, on January 7), Japan, China, Indonesia, Turkey, Israel, Thailand, Egypt, Singapore, Vietnam, and Bangladesh showed no impact during Christmas Eve dinner or Christmas Day morning or lunch.

Many countries, though not all, experienced a noticeable drop in Internet traffic during Christmas Day lunch, with variations in timing. Spain, Poland, Norway, the Czech Republic, France, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Brazil, Sweden, Colombia, Finland, Austria, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, the Netherlands, the United States, New Zealand, and Ukraine all recorded significant declines, mostly in the early afternoon. In contrast, Denmark, Argentina, Chile, Belgium, Mexico, Romania, and Australia did not exhibit the same lunch decline.

Midnight on January 1 — a moment when people around the world turned away from their screens — revealed regional differences in digital behavior as people disconnected to celebrate. To accurately assess New Year’s impact, we compared traffic at 00:00 on January 1 with 00:00 on December 18 (the same time two weeks prior), avoiding Christmas distortions. This approach highlights the distinct drop in Internet activity due to the celebrations. These latest holiday patterns mirror those of 2023, with slight percentage changes and Latin American countries exhibiting larger drops than Northern Europe or some Asian regions.

Latin America countries led our global analysis with the strongest drops: Chile registered a 73% decline, Argentina 68%, and Colombia a 50% drop, underscoring deep-rooted traditions that drove people to disconnect at midnight.

European nations also experienced substantial declines in Internet traffic, especially those in Latin or Southern Europe, with Romania (-60%), Italy (-58%), Portugal (-57%), and Spain (-56%) demonstrating pronounced drops, while countries like Germany (-48%) and Switzerland (-42%) also emphasized the cultural importance of New Year’s celebrations. Northern Europe, however, showed a more moderate impact, with Norway dropping by 41% and Sweden by 22%.

In contrast, North America experienced a relatively milder decrease in online activity, with the United States with a drop in traffic of 11% and Canada at 15%, likely due to the spread of time zones and staggered celebrations. The trend was similar in 2023, with a 12% drop in the US and 14% in Canada, reinforcing the consistency of local Internet usage patterns from year to year.

Across Asia and the Pacific, the impact varied: the Philippines (-41%), Australia (-21%), South Korea (-18%), and Singapore (-18%) showed significant declines, while Indonesia (-7%) and Malaysia (-11%) experienced a smaller drop.

In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates saw a 29% decline, and Egypt dropped by 7%, whereas Israel recorded an 11% increase, indicating different cultural or post-celebration dynamics. The 2024 data highlighted New Year’s global influence, with patterns of reduced online activity shaped by diverse local traditions that impacted digital activity.

The Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, is widely celebrated across Asia. It began on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, marking the start of the Year of the Snake, a symbol of wisdom and intuition. A few days prior, China’s extended holiday period began, running from January 29 to February 4, 2025.

This period is marked by Chunyun, the world’s largest annual human migration, as millions return home. Key traditions include the New Year’s Eve Reunion Dinner, fireworks, and cultural performances such as temple fairs and dragon or lion dances. In South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore, the holiday period was shorter, lasting from January 28 to 30, 2025. Here’s Vietnam as an example, where it is also clearly evident how traffic started to decrease after January 21, 2025:

Daily Internet traffic drops when people disconnected to celebrate across Asia. Hong Kong saw its sharpest decline on January 29 (-25%), while Singapore peaked at -23% on the same day. Vietnam (-24%) and Malaysia (-16%) also hit their lowest points on January 29. Taiwan’s biggest drop occurred on January 28 (-15%), while South Korea recorded moderate declines of 8% on both January 28 and 29. China experienced its largest drop on January 28 (-17%), while Indonesia saw its strongest decline on January 29 (-11%). In general, January 29 stood out as a key moment of reduced Internet traffic, though the impact varied by country.

The more granular traffic data revealed specific offline moments that mirrored rich cultural traditions. In China, digital activity dropped sharply on January 28 around midday (-36%) and again in the late afternoon. It also declined by 28% at 00:00 on January 29, likely reflecting deep engagement in family reunions and festivities. Hong Kong, Vietnam, and the Philippines also experienced significant declines around midnight, while Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan exhibited notable, though varied, drops.

It’s important to note that the midnight drop in traffic during Lunar or Chinese New Year was not as pronounced as during the Gregorian calendar’s New Year, as seen in previous data.

In 2024, the trends remain strikingly consistent with those of 2023. In Europe, Christmas Eve continues to be the main offline moment, with traffic drops reaching 67% in Denmark and 66% in Spain. In North and Latin America, December 25 remained the key day, as seen with a 26% drop in the US and up to 70% drop at midnight in Argentina. These patterns demonstrate that traditional celebrations still heavily influence online behavior.

Across Asia, unique cultural events drive distinct periods of reduced online activity. The Lunar New Year showed peak disconnection around January 29 in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Vietnam. Overall, the 2024 data reinforce the enduring impact of cultural rituals on global Internet usage. Those are also demonstrated by Ramadan in a different part of the year. It also reminds us that while the Internet connects billions, cultural rhythms continue to shape our relationship with technology.

If you’re interested in more trends and insights about the Internet, check out Cloudflare Radar. Follow us on social media at @CloudflareRadar (X), noc.social/@cloudflareradar (Mastodon), and radar.cloudflare.com (Bluesky), or contact us via email.