Not feeling the holiday cheer? Switch it up with the ‘Dark Christmas’ aesthetic

Weary of merry Christmases? You might be better suited for the Dark Christmas aesthetic. In contrast with a classically cheerful and bright Christmas, this holiday style is distinctly mysterious and moody.

It's not all doom and gloom, though. It can actually be a whole lot of fun to put together a Dark Christmas setup—here's everything that you need to know about the aesthetic.

Where does the Dark Christmas aesthetic come from?

Before we dive into how to celebrate Dark Christmas, let's talk about its history. Dark Christmas takes inspiration from Yule, the pagan celebration of the winter solstice. Originating in Scandinavia thousands of years ago, Yule gave rise to Christmas traditions such as feasting on delicious food and hanging up decorative foliage. But there was definitely a mystical element to it, too, since other notable festivities included making animal sacrifices and lighting a log to ward off evil spirits.

Dark Christmas is also about celebrating winter without modern-day distractions, even if it paradoxically exists as a TikTok aesthetic. That said, it isn’t limited to a specific era and is more about the vibes, so to speak. Dark Christmas is sometimes referred to as “Gothic Christmas" or "Victorian Christmas"—both eras fall under different time frames and long after the origin of Yule.

What are the key elements of this holiday aesthetic? 

Dark Christmas is a distinct holiday style with broad appeal, sharing similarities with the goth, dark academia, and whimsigoth aesthetics. It’s also very popular on WitchTok during the holidays, as you can see below. 

At the core of Dark Christmas is an understated and somber ambiance to give you that abandoned mansion feel. But you don't have to display skull pieces or reference the kidnapping demon Krampus if you don't want to. So what are key elements of this look, if it's not strictly spooky?

Visually, Dark Christmas touts a deep color palette, featuring colors like burgundy and emerald as opposed to normal Christmas’ traditionally bright red and green. It also incorporates natural decor pieces like fresh wreaths, berry branches, and fruit garlands—basically, you want to skip the obviously plastic Christmas trees.  

Signature pieces include vintage taper candles, wooden nutcrackers, brass ornaments, and twine-wrapped presents. If you’re committed to a Victorian style, you can also add things like fringed lampshades, gilded frames, and marble statuettes.

Basically, the more old-timey your holiday setup looks, the more it evokes Dark Christmas. If you’re looking for some yuletide Gothic or Victorian pop culture inspiration, TikTok creator @nikkshae recommends movies such as Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), A Christmas Carol (1999), and Little Women (both the 1994 and 2019 versions).

Here is a full list of movie recs:

Examples 

To help you celebrate the dark side this winter, we’ve compiled Dark Christmas examples across TikTok for your viewing pleasure. Scroll ahead for moody holiday inspiration set to haunting renditions of classics like “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” and “Carol of the Bells"!

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