The Westminster Directory for Public Worship (1645) abolished the liturgical calendar of the Church of England, including Christmas, Easter, Ascension, and saints' days, on the basis of the regulative principle of worship: only what Scripture commands or warrants may be included in public worship. The Westminster Confession (Chapter XXI.1) states that 'the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men.' Historic Scottish and English Presbyterianism was therefore strongly anti-festival, and in Scotland Christmas was not a public holiday until 1958.

In contemporary Presbyterianism, practice varies considerably. Many Presbyterian churches, particularly in North America and the Global South, now observe Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter as part of the liturgical calendar, finding devotional and catechetical value in these seasons. Conservative bodies such as the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and some independent Reformed churches maintain the historic position of not observing church festivals. The PCUSA and PCA congregations generally observe Christmas and Easter. This remains an area of legitimate diversity within the Presbyterian tradition.