‘Tis the season to be Jolly! Or at least, it will be in a few weeks time, which is rather comforting news. On that note, armed with a premature dose of the Christmas Spirit and braving the rather wet and windy weather that Yorkshire threw at us the other Saturday, your dedicated Culture Sub-editor (I have to be careful I don’t call myself a Sub-Culture editor!) hit the streets to quiz both locals, tourists and students on their Christmas habits.
The aim of the game was to discover what is at the heart of people’s Christmas celebrations, the different ways in which people celebrate the festive season and what it was that they couldn’t live without around this time of year.
As I talked to passers-by it was as if a rendition of Joy To The World was being played out across the whole of York; I found those who loved Christmas because of the food, others who loved the chance to give and receive presents, others who prized the spirituality of the season (be it in the Christian faith or another, Jewish Hanukkah etc.) and others who cherished the family aspect of Christmas. Sadly enough, 0.05-ish % wished Christmas wasn’t so annual!
A grand total of 100% of all those asked said that Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas if it were not spent with either family or friends. Which echoed the 100% who said that Christmas wouldn’t be the same without the customary present giving sessions either in the days leading up to the 25th, or on the day itself. 95% admitted that the cold, crisp and icy (well, snowy if we’re lucky) weather was crucial to enjoying Christmas. Along with 95% who stated that they always had a traditional sit down hot Christmas Dinner (with crackers, if they were British…crackers don’t seem to have reached our European counterparts!).
True to the spirit of Christmas, and a figure to rival those who say we are becoming less religious, 71% said that they had some form of advent wreath in their homes, counting down the weeks to Christmas. 67% attend some form of Church service on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day itself.
81% enjoyed keeping up the tradition of sending and receiving cards, noting the fact that a card from someone you hadn’t seen for years, was always a bonus!
Only 76% confessed to enjoying Christmas Cake and Pudding…a number I expected to be a little higher. Perhaps currants are out of fashion at the moment? A sadly small 19% watched Carols from Kings, although many hadn’t heard of it before. For our readers: Carols from Kings is a magnificent excuse to turn on the telly on Christmas Eve to listen to a few fantastic Christmas Carols whilst peeling the spuds for the next day!
All in all, I rather enjoyed my day in town quizzing the inhabitants, tourists and students of our wonderful city. passing by shop after shop bedecked with red, gold and silver, I happily realised that, whilst most of York was jollying up to enjoy a religiously soul-warming Christmas with the family (and perhaps a touch of snow), the tiny percent who weren’t too bothered about the festivities could at least view Christmas as the season which brings mulled wine to our pubs and fruit punch to our streets!
And what better reason to celebrate!