NEW YORK -- As America becomes increasingly diverse, traditions are bound to change and adapt, but old traditions remain strong. Christmas is still Americans’ top pick by a wide margin when naming their favorite holiday from any point in the calendar year (with 46% naming it as their favorite), according to a Harris Poll, which also looked at food and drink preferences for the holidays.
Be Merry
Christmas is the top choice across generations and genders, among households with and without children under 18, among all political persuasions and across racial lines as well.
Thanksgiving (19%) is the second choice overall, followed by Halloween (9%), Fourth of July (5%) and Easter (3%).
Although Thanksgiving holds the No. 2 spot among most groups, it doesn’t have a complete lock on the position.
- Among millennials, Halloween (17%) overtakes Thanksgiving (13%) for the second spot on the list.
- Thanksgiving holds onto second place among Hispanics (16%), but is closely followed by Fourth of July (15%). When looking at Hispanics by language dominance, though, results vary further still. Among English-dominant Hispanics, Halloween (20%) overshadows Thanksgiving (14%) as their second favorite holiday. Meanwhile, Fourth of July (16% Bilingual, 21% Spanish-dominant) tops turkey day (14% and 18%) as the second favorite among bilingual (16% Fourth of July, 14% Thanksgiving) and Spanish-dominant (21%, 18%) Hispanics.
Eat
When asked what one food or dish they most look forward to eating each year during this holiday season, turkey (32%) prevails, with more than three times the mentions of any other dish. Stuffing (9%) is a distant second, followed more closely by ham (8%) and pie (7%). Sweet potatoes/yams (3%) and mashed potatoes (also 3%) round out the top five.
- Turkey is tops across regions, generations, genders and races, but the No. 2 spot varies among some groups. With 15% of total Hispanics naming tamales as the food they most look forward to eating during the holiday season, this dish is second only to turkey (28% among this group) on their holiday tables. Among Asians, beef (6%)--while a distant second to turkey (34%)--is second nonetheless.
Drink
What to wash that holiday meal down with? Those 21 and older who celebrate and drink alcohol during each holiday were asked which alcoholic beverages they are most likely to drink on each:
- Nearly two-thirds say wine is among the beverages they’re most likely to drink for Thanksgiving and Christmas (64% each), with over half (57% for Thanksgiving, 54% for Christmas) specifying table (still) wine.
- Nearly half consider at least one type of beer among their top choices on these holidays (47% Thanksgiving, 46% Christmas).
- Turning to New Year’s Eve, 54% of revelers each list wine (with sparkling exceeding still at 40% and 30%, respectively) and liquor/spirits/cocktails, while 43% say beer.
- Just over half say wine (51%) and over four in 10 say beer (46%) for Hanukkah, while the inverse is true for Kwanzaa (55% beer, 43% wine).
Looking across the holidays, older Americans consistently lean more toward wine while their younger counterparts are more prone to pouring a beer or a cocktail, or enjoying a hard cider or flavored malt beverage.
These are some of the results of a poll of 2,368 general population U.S. adults, along with representative oversamples of 511 Hispanic Americans (interviewed in English and Spanish) and 179 Asian Americans (interviewed in English), surveyed online between Sept. 9 and 17, 2015.
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