The short answer
Yes. The fortnight from about 19 December to 4 January is the busiest of the year for visitors from Europe, with New Year's Eve the peak. Riads, Agafay camps and Sahara camps fill first. Christmas itself is not a Moroccan holiday, so shops and souks run as normal. Book by October or November.
In more detail
Morocco is a Muslim country and Christmas Day is an ordinary working day. Some large hotels mark it for guests, but the medina carries on as usual. Moroccan schools have no Christmas break; their winter break in 2026 runs from 6 to 13 December, which brings domestic families to the mountains and the Agafay a week or two earlier.
The crowds come from abroad. Our calendar puts European demand at its height across the Christmas and New Year fortnight, and Morocco's visitor numbers have hit records in 2025 and 2026, so peak weeks sell out earlier than they used to.
The weather is good for the city if you dress for it: highs of about 19 °C and bright days, with nights of about 7 °C and cold riads. Sunset is about 17:35, so evenings are long. The first weeks of January, once the holidays end, are among the calmest of the year.