How Britons celebrate Christmas and Easter
Most Britons celebrate Christmas and Easter as secular rather than religious events, with many combining the two aspects
Christmas and Easter are both religious holidays – two of the most important in Christianity – but that is not how either is celebrated in the public, YouGov research has found.
When it comes to Christmas, six in ten of those who celebrate the holiday (61%) say they celebrate it as a completely secular event. For three in ten (31%) it’s a combination of religious and secular. Just 4% of Britons say they celebrate Christmas purely as a religious event.
While going to church used to be commonplace at Christmas and Easter, few Britons do so now. Only 22% go to church at Christmas, while 15% do so at Easter (and only 13% do so on both occasions).The custom of having a decorated tree at a home – which has ancient roots but, in today’s tradition, dates back to 16th century Germany – is an unmissable detail, if not the central theme, for almost every Christmas celebration.
Eight in ten (79%) of Britons say they put up a Christmas tree at home. This tradition is more popular among women (84%) than men (78%) and is equally practised across all age groups.
Other Christmas activities Britons partake in include exchanging gifts (87%), and getting together with family (81%) and friends (51%). Despite the holiday, a fifth (22%) of Britons say they work during the Christmas period. One in seven (16%) said they reflect on the birth of Christ, whilst one in eight (14%) said they pray.
When it comes to the motivations for celebrating Easter, here too it is primarily secular. The majority of those who observe the festival (56%) say they do so in an entirely secular way. Only 10% say they do so in an entirely religious fashion, while 29% combine the two.
Half of Britons (50%) say they get together with family at Easter, and a fifth (22%) with friends. Far fewer people exchange gifts at Easter (20%) than at Christmas. Similar numbers, however, say they reflect on the meaning of Easter (19%), and pray (12%).
The importance of Christmas/Easter sermons
The pope’s Christmas and Easter sermons, Urbi et Orbi – traditionally delivered on Christmas Day/Easter Sunday from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican – are broadcast to over a billion people around the world annually. However, in the UK, just a quarter of Britons (27%) say they pay attention to the Christmas/Easter message by the Pope, whilst seven in ten (71%) say they pay no attention to this.
Slightly more (32%) pay attention to the Christmas/Easter message from the Archbishop of Canterbury, but in this case as well the majority (66%) don’t.
Britons who are 60 and older are more likely to pay attention to the Christmas/Easter messages from the Pope (36%) or the Archbishop (46%), but this is still a minority.
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