What’s On in Gozo in December 2026
By Kerry Gaffney | Last Updated 03/11/2026
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December on Gozo runs on lights and cribs. Every village switches on its own display, and from mid-month church crypts, band clubs and even a wartime shelter fill up with nativity scenes, some mechanical, some life-size.
The big set pieces (Bethlehem f’Għajnsielem, the Victoria Christmas Parade, the panto and New Year’s Eve) are in our Christmas on Gozo guide. This page covers the rest: the concerts, the village evenings and a crib trail you can do in an afternoon and evening.
Our Top Picks
Carols by Candlelight
Now in its 17th year, Schola Cantorum Jubilate’s candlelit carol concert is one of the gentler ways to start the season. It runs on two nights, which helps, because it fills up.
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Date: |
Friday 4 and Saturday 5 December 2026 |
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Time: |
19:30 – 21:00 |
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Location: |
St Augustine Convent, St Augustine Square, Victoria |
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Cost: |
[check] |
Christmas in the Square, Sannat
Sannat, the original Sainte Victoire, does Christmas over a weekend. Friday is live entertainment in St Margaret Square. On Sunday the Christmas market opens at 15:00, children can meet Father Christmas, and a parade winds through the streets to the square at 17:00.
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Date: |
Friday 5 and Sunday 6 December 2026 |
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Time: |
Fri 19:00 – 22:00, Sun from 15:00 |
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Location: |
St Margaret Square, Sannat |
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Cost: |
Free |
Banda f’Marsalforn for L-Istrina
On Boxing Day Malta holds L-Istrina, its national charity telethon, and Gozo’s band clubs play their part. This is a band on the Marsalforn seafront at lunchtime, which is a fine excuse for a walk after Christmas Day.
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Date: |
Saturday 26 December 2026 |
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Time: |
13:00 – 15:00 |
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Location: |
Marsalforn waterfront |
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Cost: |
Free, donations welcome [check] |
The Gozo Crib Trail
Cribs (il-presepju) are taken seriously on Gozo. Some families build theirs over decades, and the best are opened to the public for a few weeks each December. These are the ones I’d see, roughly in the order I’d see them.
Top Tip: Most crib exhibitions open in the late afternoon. Three of them are in Nadur, a short walk apart, so start there.
La Luce del Mondo, Nadur
The Nativity told inside Nadur’s wartime shelter, with life-size figures, period costumes, built scenery and theatrical lighting. It is the most immersive crib on the island and the one to see if you only see one.
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Date: |
[check run dates] |
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Time: |
17:00 – 20:00 |
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Location: |
Nadur Square, Triq il-Knisja, Nadur |
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Cost: |
Free |
Festo Christi Natalico, Nadur
Down in the crypt beneath the Basilica of St Peter and St Paul, a collection of cribs by local artists and community members, including pieces made on crib-making courses.
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Date: |
[check run dates] |
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Time: |
16:00 – 20:30 |
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Location: |
Basilica of St Peter and St Paul, Nadur |
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Cost: |
Free |
Presepju Artistiku, Nadur
A single crib by Jean Paul Portelli, whose work turns up in Nadur most Christmases. A more personal take on the Nativity than the traditional scenes.
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Date: |
[check run dates] |
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Time: |
16:00 – 19:00 |
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Location: |
Society of Christian Doctrine Museum, Dun Ġorġ Preca Street, Nadur |
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Cost: |
Free |
Il-Qala Tissaħħar bil-Presepji, Qala
A five-minute drive from Nadur. Qala’s young committee members and local exhibitors fill the parish church with handcrafted cribs every year.
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Date: |
[check run dates] |
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Time: |
17:00 – 20:00 |
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Location: |
Qala Parish Church, Qala |
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Cost: |
Free |
Il-Ġrajja tal-Milied, Xagħra
Seven dioramas by crib artists Ġanni Attard and Beatrice Cini, setting the Nativity in Gozitan and Maltese landscapes. Built from gabbla stone, foam and plaster, with figures you’ll want to get close to. It’s in Xagħra, ten minutes from Nadur.
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Date: |
[check run dates] |
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Time: |
15:30 – 18:30 |
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Location: |
17 Triq Jannar, Xagħra |
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Cost: |
Free |
Nativitas Iesu, Xagħra
Four Nativity scenes made by Teddy Caruana and his son Tonio. A family project, and it shows in the detail.
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Date: |
[check run dates] |
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Time: |
16:00 – 19:00 |
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Location: |
17 Triq Vestru, Xagħra |
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Cost: |
Free |
Presepji u Bambini, Victoria
Finish in Victoria, where Teatru Astra hosts a crib set in the Gozitan countryside with figures by Michael Cutajar Zahra, modelled on well-known Gozitans. See how many you recognise. There’s also a Neapolitan-style crib by George Camilleri.
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Date: |
[check run dates] |
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Time: |
17:00 – 20:00 |
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Location: |
Teatru Astra, Republic Street, Victoria |
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Cost: |
Free |
Presepju Mekkanizzat
A mechanical crib telling the Christmas story in moving scenes, including a replica of St Francis’s first living nativity at Greccio.
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Date: |
[check run dates] |
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Time: |
16:00 – 20:00 |
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Location: |
[check] |
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Cost: |
Free |
Frank Mizzi’s crib at Il-Ħaġar Museum and the living nativity at Bethlehem f’Għajnsielem are both in our Christmas on Gozo guide.
Music
Christmas Harmony
The youth band of the Soċjetà Filarmonika Prekursur play a mix of seasonal and contemporary pieces. Band clubs are the backbone of Gozitan village life, and this is a chance to hear the next generation.
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Date: |
Saturday 19 December 2026 |
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Time: |
19:00 – 20:30 |
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Location: |
Soċjetà Filarmonika Prekursur, Triq Santa Katarina, Xewkija |
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Cost: |
[check] |
Strings for Christmas
A string orchestra under Pierre Louis Attard plays seasonal favourites and baroque pieces in the St Francis of Assisi Conventual Church. A calm evening between Christmas and New Year.
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Date: |
Sunday 27 December 2026 |
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Time: |
19:30 – 21:00 |
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Location: |
St Francis Square, Victoria |
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Cost: |
[check] |
Family & Kids
Santa’s Magical Theatre
A Christmas film screening for children aged four and over, with popcorn included. It’s a fundraiser for the organisers.
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Date: |
Sunday 20 December 2026 |
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Time: |
17:00 – 19:00 |
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Location: |
MBC Theatre, Triq Diċembru Tlettax, Nadur |
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Cost: |
€5 |
Piccole Luci
Żebbuġ’s family Christmas evening, with activities and live performances in the village square on Boxing Day.
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Date: |
Saturday 26 December 2026 |
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Time: |
17:00 – 21:00 |
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Location: |
Żebbuġ Square, Żebbuġ |
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Cost: |
[check] |
New Year’s Eve
Gozo’s free New Year’s Eve concert is in Victoria, with Italian singer Gala headlining. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, Freed from Desire will. The Travellers, Rebecca & The Passengers and DJ Terra are also on the bill. Full details are in our Christmas on Gozo guide.
That’s our pick for December. For everything else happening across the island, bookmark Events in Gozo, and if you’re here for Christmas itself, our Christmas on Gozo guide has the rest.