Dear Readers:
From The Mrs. Herself and I, we would like to wish you a Merry Christmas, and happy and prosperous New Year!
If you’re Jewish, or Muslim, or a Hindu, an Atheist, a Wiccan, or whatever …………………., Merry Christmas anyway!
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Christmas, in Ontario at least, is here to stay.
Almost everyone — 94% — surveyed in a recent Forum Poll of Ontarians said they celebrate Christmas.
That included high numbers of non-Christian (62%) and non-religious (95%) Ontario residents.
“As Ontario becomes more secular and more diverse, Christmas is hanging in there,” Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum Research Inc., said Tuesday. “That number (94%) is a really high number.”
That’s likely in part because the holiday is seen by most — 59% — as about family, he said.
The poll did reveal about four in 10 Ontarians say Christmas is under attack, about the same who believe it isn’t.
“That is a lot of people saying yes to that question,” Bozinoff said.
But far more people (76%) give a Merry Christmas greeting most often this time of year than a Happy Holidays (16%) or the even less popular Season’s Greeting (2%), the poll showed.
Just a quarter of respondents said Christmas is about religion, but fewer than that (16%) said it was about shopping and parties.
As for the real Christmas spirit, giving, about two-thirds of Ontarians (63%) have given to charity this season or plan to give.
Those who feel there is an attack on Christmas are most commonly the least educated, Conservative party supporters, Protestant, Catholic and especially evangelical Christians and from northern Ontario.
The results are based on a random polling of 1,058 Ontario residents, aged 18 and over, on Dec. 19 and 20.
For more detailed results, visit www.forumresearch.com/polls.asp​
POLL AT A GLANCE
Forum Research Inc. surveyed 1,058 Ontario residents about Christmas. Key findings:
94% celebrate Christmas
42% say there’s no war on Christmas
40% say there’s a war on Christmas
76% say Merry Christmas
16% say Happy Holidays
2% say Seasons Greetings
59% say Christmas is about family
24% say Christmas is about religion
16% say Christmas is about shopping/parties
Poll
Do you celebrate Christmas?
Yes 97% 580 votes
No 3% 21 votes

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