December carries the two biggest fixed public holidays of the year: Christmas Day on 25 December and Boxing Day on 26 December. Both are observed nationally, though several states shift the public holiday to the following working day when either date lands on a weekend in 2029, the same rule applied to New Year's Day and Australia Day earlier in the year. The school year ends for most students partway through December, opening the long summer holidays.
The working-day count for December 2029 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 2029 and the financial year's second quarter, on 31 December.
December 2029 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.