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Even as the meaning of Christmas changes for most Americans, a majority say Christmas is their favorite holiday.
Christmas is a time when many Americans come together to spend time with family, exchange gifts, and take a break from winter to celebrate. While the holiday began as a celebration of the birth of Christ, it no longer has religious connotation for some American families. Though the meaning of Christmas may be changing, it shows no signs of losing popularity, as 92% of Americans currently celebrate the holiday, with a majority calling it their favorite.
The latest YouGov research shows that a majority of people (70%) think that the true meaning of Christmas has been lost. Republicans are the mostly likely to think so (81%), along with 69% of Independents and 61% of Democrats. Even so, 63% of Americans are looking forward to the holiday, and 54% say Christmas is their favorite holiday- no matter what its official meaning.
If the meaning of Christmas is changing, there may be some evidence in the celebration practices of younger Americans versus older Americans. Those 18-29 are evenly split between celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday and not (49% to 49%). The gap widens as people get older, with a majority of those over 45 years of age celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday.
Younger people, aged 18-29, also feel the loneliest around Christmas. More than a quarter of young Americans, 28%, say that they feel lonely around Christmas. However, Americans in general feel lonelier around Christmas then their European peers. While France is the closest to the US in terms of holiday loneliness, a much lower percentage of those in other countries say that they feel lonely over the holiday, with only 8% of Danish people saying they feel lonely.
Despite the fact that one in five Americans feel lonely during the holiday, over 90% partake in Christmas festivities, though not all of them are religious. Many activities overlap, including gift giving, tree decorating, and holiday parties, while nativity scenes and church services are replaced by snowscapes and Santa stories by secular families. A large majority of Americans (82%) like Christmas, but some fear that it is becoming more of a commercial holiday, rather than one based around family or religious values. However, there are many examples that people have not forgotten the inclusive spirit of Christmas, like one current example where a retired butler who has spent 9 years alone at Christmas, was inundated with invitations and cards of support after he put out an ad in the newspaper looking for someone to spend the holiday with.
Full poll results can be found here.
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