Maryland winter break dates are not identical across public school systems. For the 2026-2027 school year, the earliest listed winter break start date in our current district data is Monday, December 21, 2026, while the latest listed end date is Sunday, January 3, 2027.
The table below lists winter break dates for all 24 Maryland local public school systems. Each district name links to the full calendar page, where the district calendar PDF and ICS file are available when published on this site.
Quick Answer
| Question | 2026-2027 answer |
|---|---|
| Is there one statewide Maryland winter break? | No. Each local school system publishes its own calendar. |
| Earliest listed winter break start | Monday, December 21, 2026 |
| Latest listed winter break end | Sunday, January 3, 2027 |
| Most common start dates | Monday, December 21, 2026 and Thursday, December 24, 2026 (10 school systems each) |
| Most common end date | Friday, January 1, 2027 (20 school systems) |
| Data status | All 24 district calendars in our current 2026-2027 data are marked official. |
Maryland Winter Break 2026-2027 Dates by School District
| School system | Winter break dates listed | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Allegany County Public Schools | Wednesday, December 23, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Western Maryland |
| Anne Arundel County Public Schools | Thursday, December 24, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Central Maryland |
| Baltimore City Public Schools | Wednesday, December 23, 2026 - Sunday, January 3, 2027 | Central Maryland |
| Baltimore County Public Schools | Thursday, December 24, 2026 - Sunday, January 3, 2027 | Central Maryland |
| Calvert County Public Schools | Wednesday, December 23, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Southern Maryland |
| Caroline County Public Schools | Monday, December 21, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Eastern Shore |
| Carroll County Public Schools | Thursday, December 24, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Central Maryland |
| Cecil County Public Schools | Thursday, December 24, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Eastern Shore |
| Charles County Public Schools | Monday, December 21, 2026 - Thursday, December 31, 2026 | Southern Maryland |
| Dorchester County Public Schools | Monday, December 21, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Eastern Shore |
| Frederick County Public Schools | Wednesday, December 23, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Capital Region |
| Garrett County Public Schools | Thursday, December 24, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Western Maryland |
| Harford County Public Schools | Thursday, December 24, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Central Maryland |
| Howard County Public School System | Thursday, December 24, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Central Maryland |
| Kent County Public Schools | Monday, December 21, 2026 - Sunday, January 3, 2027 | Eastern Shore |
| Montgomery County Public Schools | Thursday, December 24, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Capital Region |
| Prince George's County Public Schools | Monday, December 21, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Capital Region |
| Queen Anne's County Public Schools | Thursday, December 24, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Eastern Shore |
| Somerset County Public Schools | Monday, December 21, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Eastern Shore |
| St. Mary's County Public Schools | Monday, December 21, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Southern Maryland |
| Talbot County Public Schools | Monday, December 21, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Eastern Shore |
| Washington County Public Schools | Thursday, December 24, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Western Maryland |
| Wicomico County Public Schools | Monday, December 21, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Eastern Shore |
| Worcester County Public Schools | Monday, December 21, 2026 - Friday, January 1, 2027 | Eastern Shore |
Winter Break Date Patterns Across Maryland
Maryland's 2026-2027 winter break start dates cluster into three groups:
| Winter break start date | School systems |
|---|---|
| Monday, December 21, 2026 | 10 |
| Wednesday, December 23, 2026 | 4 |
| Thursday, December 24, 2026 | 10 |
End dates are less varied. Most districts list Friday, January 1, 2027 as the end of winter break. A few calendars include the weekend through Sunday, January 3, while Charles County labels winter break through Thursday, December 31 and lists New Year's Day separately.
| Winter break end date listed | School systems |
|---|---|
| Thursday, December 31, 2026 | 1 |
| Friday, January 1, 2027 | 20 |
| Sunday, January 3, 2027 | 3 |
For family planning, the practical return week is often the week of Monday, January 4, 2027, but the label matters. In some districts, the named winter break connects with a weekend, teacher workday, student holiday, early dismissal, or New Year's Day, so the student's actual time away from a regular school schedule may be longer than the break label alone suggests. Always check the district page for student workdays, conditional make-up days, or local notes immediately before or after winter break.
Early Dismissal and Return-Week Notes
Several Maryland calendars include an early dismissal immediately before winter break or a conditional day soon after the break. These details can matter as much as the first full no-school date.
| School system | Winter planning note |
|---|---|
| Allegany County Public Schools | December 22 is listed as a three-hour early dismissal before Christmas Break begins December 23. |
| Baltimore County Public Schools | December 23 is listed as the day winter break begins at the end of the school day; the break range itself starts December 24. |
| Caroline County Public Schools | December 18 is listed as a half day before the December 21 winter break start. |
| Carroll County Public Schools | December 23 is listed as an early dismissal before Winter Break. |
| Cecil County Public Schools | December 23 is listed as an early dismissal for all students before the December 24 winter holiday. |
| Charles County Public Schools | December 18 is listed as a two-hour early dismissal. The calendar labels Winter Break as December 21-31 and lists January 1 separately as New Year's Day. |
| Dorchester County Public Schools | December 18 is listed as a half day for students before the December 21 winter break start. |
| Garrett County Public Schools | December 23 is listed as a three-hour early dismissal before Winter Break begins December 24. |
| Montgomery County Public Schools | December 23 is listed as an early release day before Winter Break. |
| Somerset County Public Schools | January 4 is listed as a conditional make-up day immediately after the December 21-January 1 winter break period. |
| Washington County Public Schools | December 23 is listed as a two-hour early dismissal before Winter Break begins December 24. |
Why Some Calendars Say Christmas Break
Most Maryland school systems in this dataset use the label "Winter Break." A few official calendars use a different label, such as Christmas Break, Winter Recess, or Winter Holiday.
In this guide, those labels are grouped together because they answer the same planning question: when are students out of school for the late-December and early-January winter holiday period?
| Calendar label in district data | School systems |
|---|---|
| Winter Break | 21 |
| Christmas Break | 1 |
| Winter Recess | 1 |
| Winter Holiday | 1 |
The exact label can still matter when you are matching a district PDF to this table. If a district separates New Year's Day from winter break, as Charles County does, this guide preserves the official winter break label and notes the connected holiday separately.
Compare Winter Break With Other Key Dates
If you are comparing winter break dates for travel, childcare, shared custody, or a move, use the Maryland school calendar comparison page. The comparison view is useful when one district starts winter break on December 21 and another starts on December 24.
You may also want to review Maryland School Start Dates 2026-2027, When Does School Start in Maryland for 2026-2027?, and Maryland Spring Break 2027 if you are planning the full school year.
How This Table Was Prepared
The dates in this guide come from the 2026-2027 calendar data currently used on Maryland School Calendar district pages. All 24 listed calendars are marked official in the current site data.
For more detail on our review process, see How We Collect and Organize Maryland School Calendar Dates. If you need to understand status labels, see Official, Draft, and Projected School Calendars. You can also review the site's calendar source notes.
School systems can revise calendars after publication because of weather closures, emergency changes, board action, or updated official documents. For final planning, always confirm dates with the latest official school system source.