Christmas in Costa Rica 2026: the cultural and festive programme, November to January
Costa Rica's festive season starts early and spills into the streets. From Thursday, November 19 to Sunday, December 27, the Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud (MCJ) lines up a jazz festival, lit façades, choir programmes, family days, a market and a run of parades. A New Year's Eve festival near Jacó closes the list.
Most of this comes from the MCJ season announcement of 6 October 2026. The individual event pages are not yet published, so the dates here are as announced. The organiser's page holds admission and ticket details; we state none.
Festival Days and Shows, in Date Order
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, November 19 to Saturday, November 21 | 506 Costa Rica Jazz Fest, with the United States as guest country; the lineup includes Ed Calle, the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional and the Big Band of the Instituto Nacional de la Música | Centro de Patrimonio and CENAC |
| Friday, November 20 | Posadas de Luz, a walking route past Cine Variedades, the Pinacoteca and the Biblioteca Nacional | Dirección de Patrimonio Cultural to CENAC |
| Friday, November 20 to Saturday, November 21 | VIVÍ Vitrina Visual CR, with 70 selected artists plus nine invited artists | Antigua Aduana |
| Friday, November 27 to Saturday, November 28 | Un cuento de Navidad, the Charles Dickens classic, in three performances | Jardín de Esculturas, Museo de Arte Costarricense |
| Saturday, November 28 to Sunday, November 29 | Festival de Boyeros, with the parade on Sunday | Parque Metropolitano La Sabana |
| Sunday, November 29 | Festival de la Abolición: a crafts fair, puppet shows and concerts | Museo Nacional |
| Tuesday, December 1 | Desfile de bandas por los 78 años de la abolición del ejército, followed by the Costa Rica Canta concert | Cine Variedades to Plaza de la Democracia |
| Tuesday, December 1 to Thursday, December 3 | Jornada Coral Navideña: Christmas stories and choir programmes, with a blessing of the pasito on December 1 | Jardines del Teatro Nacional |
| Wednesday, December 2 | Concierto Ride Navideño en el Parque La Libertad, a family day of workshops, dance, theatre and music | Parque Metropolitano La Libertad, Desamparados |
| Friday, December 4 to Sunday, December 6 | Feria Hecho Aquí, with the Philippines as guest country | Antigua Aduana |
| Sunday, December 6 to Wednesday, December 16 | Donde nace la luz, a large-format Christmas show of theatre, dance and live symphonic music | Teatro Nacional |
| Sunday, December 13 | RIDE Navideño: Posadas Navideñas, a family day with workshops, music, dance, film and theatre | Parque Metropolitano La Sabana |
| Friday, December 18 to Sunday, December 20 | Mercado Navideño: crafts, food, textiles and leather goods, with street parades and children's shows | CENAC |
The Big City Moments
Thursday, December 3. The façade of the Museo de Arte Costarricense comes alive in the Iluminación del Museo de Arte Costarricense, a video-mapping show with music, art activities and Fogón Futuro food.
Tuesday, December 8. The Iluminación del Teatro Popular Melico Salazar lights the theatre's façade with fireworks, music, a UCR choir and Fogón Futuro food.
Saturday, December 12. The Festival de la Luz is San José's annual parade (route and crowd notes). This year it runs from Plaza de la Democracia to Torre Mercedes on Paseo Colón, per Teletica. Our listing has no seller page for it yet, so confirm the route with the organizer, the Municipalidad de San José.
Friday, December 25. Families can celebrate Christmas Day at the Concierto de Navidad en La Sabana, with activities for all ages at Parque Metropolitano La Sabana.
Saturday, December 26 and Sunday, December 27. Two parades finish at La Sabana. The Desfile del Día Nacional del Caballista leaves Plaza Víquez and ends at La Sabana with a concert. The next day, Costa Rica de Fiesta: Desfile por las 7 provincias runs from Plaza de la Democracia to La Sabana.
El Mesías in Four Communities
Per the MCJ announcement, the Coro Sinfónico Nacional takes El Mesías to four communities in December. Each is its own listing:
- Friday, December 11: El Mesías, con el Coro Sinfónico Nacional, the opening night, at the Parroquia San Diego in Tres Ríos.
- Sunday, December 13: El Mesías, con el Coro Sinfónico Nacional in Santa María de Dota.
- Tuesday, December 15: El Mesías, con el Coro Sinfónico Nacional at the Iglesia de El Guarco, in Cartago.
- Wednesday, December 16: El Mesías, con el Coro Sinfónico Nacional in the Salón Kalote of the Museo de los Niños, San José.
Casa Mint and New Year's Eve
Tuesday, December 8. Navidad que abraza con Casa Mint is held at Casa Mint in the Distrito Merced of San José. It is not an MCJ item: Eventbrite is its seller.
Thursday, December 31 to Friday, January 1. La Selva del Bajo: New Year's Eve is a bass and dubstep festival with camping at The Park at Ocean Ranch, about 13 minutes from Jacó (more in our Costa Rica guide). It has three stages: a 360° main stage, a pool stage and a river stage. The lineup is still to be announced, and per the official site there is a waitlist for ticket access. Comparing countries? See New Year's Eve across Latin America.
The January civic fiestas in Zapote, Palmares and elsewhere have no published 2026-27 dates yet, and we will add them when they are announced.
How to Plan the Season
- Check the organiser. Its page holds admission and ticket details.
- Confirm the venue. The four El Mesías dates sit in four different places.
- Read the route. Posadas de Luz, the band parade, the Festival de la Luz and the Caballista and Costa Rica de Fiesta parades run between named points, not at one venue.
- Looking wider? See Christmas and December events across Latin America.
FAQ
Where do these dates come from? Mostly from the MCJ season announcement of 6 October 2026, plus official and seller pages we read on October 18, and Teletica for the Festival de la Luz route.
Are the events free? We state no admission. The organiser's page holds admission and ticket details.
More Costa Rica Guides
Read on: Concerts at Parque Viva, Alajuela: the calendar from October 2026 to February 2027, Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica: the season from October to December 2026 and Costa Rica: concerts and festivals, October 2026 to February 2027.
We built this list from our catalogue and official pages on October 18, and it grows: follow it on the Costa Rica page.
Also available in Spanish: Navidad en Costa Rica 2026: programa cultural y festivo.