Another Christmas has come and gone. How do we measure the holiday? With the tree going up right after Thanksgiving? And being taken down again at the beginning of the New Year? Or somewhere in between? While most Americans do celebrate Christmas with gift-giving and decorations, most leave Christ out of Christmas. Even schools now have ‘winter holidays’ instead of Christmas break.
Who Celebrates?
About 88% of Americans celebrate Christmas. This goes true across age brackets, races, and religious affiliations. By celebrating, it is the giving of gifts and perhaps the display of a lit tree. Most of these people celebrate with family and friends.
Religious Aspects
What is changing about Christmas is the religious aspect. Attending church on Christmas Sunday or Christmas Eve has dropped to merely 47% of Americans. This is 17% points lower than in 2010. Along with that, the display of Nativity scenes or religious decorations has fallen to 54%. In 2010, most of those celebrating Christmas were of a Christian denomination. Today, that has dropped to 69%.
Only 32% of young adults attend live holiday concerts or shows, while about half of middle-aged and older adults do.
Conclusion
Although almost 90% of Americans still celebrate Christmas, it has become a time of festivities, cookies, and gifts rather than a time to reflect on the birth of Christ and the meaning of God coming to earth. Will Americans sway further to the left in the future as younger adults remain ignorant of the reason for the season? Or will churches draw the lost into their bodies, so they, too, can experience abundant joy?
