Canadian Christmas Traditions Evolve as Fewer Give Gifts, Have a Tree, Hang Stockings or Eat Turkey

Toronto, ON - Christmas traditions in Canada continue to evolve, and according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News fewer Canadians are observing what might be considered the more traditional Christmas traditions of exchanging gifts, having a Christmas tree, eating turkey or hanging stockings, particularly when the data is compared against results from 2010.

The data reveal that fewer Canadians are exchanging gifts this Christmas (75%, down from 80% in 2014), are having a Christmas tree (70%, down 8 points since 2010), are having turkey for Christmas dinner (65%, down 10 points since 2010), are hanging stockings (45%, down 7 points since 2010), are going to church (27%, down 3 points since 2010), or are having a nativity scene in their home (23%, down 6 points since 2010). The only figure that is stable is that 20% of Canadians will have tourtiиre for Christmas (54% of Quebecers). Nearly one in ten (7%) Canadians won't do any of these things.

Almost across the board, Atlantic Canadians are most likely to observe most of these traditions. Women are more likely than men to be hanging on to these traditions. While exchanging gifts and putting up Christmas trees continue to be popular across all age groups, Millennials are less likely to have turkey for dinner (57%), go to church (24%), have a nativity scene in their home (16%) or have tourtiиre for dinner (14%).

Despite increased sensitivity towards inclusivity in Canada, two in three (68%, down 3 points since 2010) Canadians continue to believe that `we should refer to the end of the year as the Christmas Season because that is the original meaning and purpose of the holiday'. In contrast, one in three (32%) more closely believe that `we should refer to the end of the year as the Holiday Season because not everyone celebrates Christmas and it's important to be inclusive of other religions and cultures'.

There is a significant generational divide in this opinion: while just 22% of Boomers prefer the more inclusive language, this rises to 32% among Gen X'ers, and 46% among Millennials. Conversely, while most (78%) Boomers prefer the "Christmas Season", this drops to 68% among Gen X'ers and 54% among Millennials.

Thinking about what Christmas means to Canadians, six in ten (59%, unchanged since 2010) best describe it as a time for family. Others say the most important thing is to reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ (18%, -1 point), that it's a nice festive season in the middle of winter (13%, +1 point) or that it's a time for sharing and gift giving (10%, +1 point).

Santa's Approval Rating Drops Slightly

Three quarters (76%) of Canadians (aged 18+) `approve' (41% strongly/36% somewhat) of Santa Claus' performance this year, although this is down from the 78% who approved of his performance last year. Still, Santa has been working hard on his image, and has rebounded from the low of 70% that Ipsos recorded in 2005.

Most approving of Santa's job performance are Atlantic Canadians (82%), followed by those in Ontario (79%), Alberta (78%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (78%), British Columbia (75%) and finally Quebec (70%). Boomers (79%) have a slightly higher opinion of Santa than Gen X'ers (76%) or Millennials (74%).

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between December 15 and 21, 2016, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 3,004 Canadians from Ipsos' online panel was interviewed online. Weighting160was then160employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval.160 In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 2.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Vice President
(416) 324-2002
Ipsos Public Affairs
[email protected]

About Ipsos

Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry. With a strong presence in 87 countries, Ipsos employs more than 16,000 people and has the ability to conduct research programs in more than 100 countries. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is controlled and managed by research professionals. They have built a solid Group around a multi-specialist positioning-- Media and advertising research; Marketing research; Client and employee relationship management; Opinion & social research; Mobile, Online, Offline data collection and delivery. Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999. www.ipsos.com