NewsConsumption and going to church at Christmas are becoming...

Consumption and going to church at Christmas are becoming less important

Shop extensively before the festival, go to church on Christmas Eve and then throw a present. According to a survey, this ritual is only appreciated by a minority of Germans.

Hamburg – Buying gifts and attending a church service – according to a new survey, significantly fewer people associate that with Christmas than ten years ago.

It remains important to the respondents to spend the holidays with the family and enjoy a time characterized by harmony, peace and contemplation. This was the result of a representative study by the opinion research institute GfK for the Hamburg BAT Foundation for Future Issues.

Ten years ago at Christmas 66 percent thought of gifts, now it is only 44 percent. Decorated shops came to 65 percent of those surveyed in 2011, compared to only 44 percent in 2021. According to the survey, going to church at Christmas only plays a role for 14 percent, ten years ago it was 26 percent. An unchanged 31 percent of people think of the birth of Christ at Christmas.

The number of respondents who associate the festival with love and harmony rose from 30 to 33 percent. Rest and contemplation are important points for 50 percent, ten years ago it was 45. Eight percent of those surveyed fear loneliness at Christmas, ten years ago only four percent had done so. 31 percent expect the festival to be less beautiful this year due to Corona.

“What is really important in life?”

“Christmas remains primarily a family celebration”, explained the scientific director of the BAT Foundation, Prof. Ulrich Reinhardt. The importance of consumption is decreasing. “The reasons for this are complex and range from limited financial opportunities due to a loss of income to a lack of desire for overcrowded shopping areas to rethinking – what is really important in life?” Assumed Reinhardt.

The churches are not full even at Christmas, the futurologist found. In times of restricted contact and the fear of being infected, only half as many citizens wanted to go to church as ten years ago. Every third Christmas continues to be associated with the birth of Jesus Christ. dpa

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