Bah, Humbug: 75 Percent Say Americans Have Forgotten Real Meaning of Christmas

A full 75% of Americans say people have forgotten the real meaning of Christmas, according to an Ipsos poll released Thursday.

The survey also found that 12% of Americans think Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is the most annoying and/or overplayed Christmas song.

The poll also found:

• 85% of Americans say they decorate their home for the holidays, with 41% saying they personally start taking down decorations in the first week of January.
• 87% say waiting until at least after Thanksgiving is the most appropriate time to start playing Christmas music in public.
• 42% of Americans say they "strongly agree" with the idea that people have forgotten the real meaning of Christmas.
• The level of agreement on the statement that people have forgotten the real meaning of Christmas varies by by religion, party affiliation, and age.
• Christians are more likely (84%) to think Americans have forgotten the real meaning of Christmas compared to non-religious Americans (60%). Agreement is also higher among Republicans and respondents over the age of 50 than among Democrats and those ages 18-24 or 25-34, respectively.

The Ipsos poll was conducted Dec. 9-11 among 1,023 adults. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults.

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