December is the busiest trading month of the year for retail and hospitality, with Christmas shopping and the summer sales season running through most of the 31-day month. December 2027 closes the financial year's second quarter, which runs from October to December, and the fourth calendar quarter of 2027, both quarters closing on the very same date, 31 December. Summer begins on 1 December, the first day of December.
The working-day count for December 2027 subtracts Christmas Day and Boxing Day, along with any substitute public holiday a state adds when either date lands on a weekend. Many workplaces also close between Christmas and New Year even on days that remain formally ordinary working days under the count above, effectively extending the break beyond the two fixed dates. December closes both the fourth calendar quarter of 2027 and the financial year's second quarter, on 31 December.
December 2027 closes out the 365-day year entirely, handing over to a new year that opens with New Year's Day and, before long, another Australia Day long weekend in the making. January begins the next twelve-month cycle with its own run of public holidays and school holidays already fixed on the calendar for the year ahead. The Boxing Day Test and the Sydney to Hobart yacht race both begin on 26 December.