December 25, 2016

Map breaks down what parts of the country say 'Merry Christmas,' 'Happy Holidays'

By Patricia Madej
PhillyVoice Staff

Stock_Carroll - Holiday Decorations Wreath

Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

A holiday wreath hangs on a door in Philadelphia.

The folks over at FiveThirtyEight did some number crunching and data gathering to come up with a brand new map that draws out what parts of the country say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" this time of year.

The results may not exactly be so shocking.

To gather the findings, FiveThirtyEight compared data from a 2013 and 2016 survey from the Public Research Institute along with regional results from the presidential election. They found that 42 percent of people in the Midwest favored "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" while 50 percent said the same in the southern part of the United States.

The map showed that the West Coast and Northeast U.S. preferred "Happy Holidays."

How are you greeting people today? Depends on where you live. Updated @FiveThirtyEight map w/ @PRRIpoll findings. https://t.co/vDexc9ZHd1
— Joanna Piacenza (@jpiacenza) December 24, 2016

The numbers show that more "nonreligious states" prefer "Happy Holidays" with 55 percent of the West Coast in support jumping from 51 percent three years prior.

FiveThirtyEight said that the preference has gotten more heated since the presidential election. Data showed that Trump performed slightly better in states that preferred "Merry Christmas" while 22 percent of evangelical Republicans supported "Happy Holidays" compared to 29 percent in 2013.

The map was published a few weeks after Corey Lewandowski, former campaign manager for President-elect Donald Trump, appeared on Fox News saying that Americans are now able to say "Merry Christmas."

“You can say again, ‘Merry Christmas,’ because Donald Trump is now the president,” he told the news station. “You can say it again, it’s OK to say, it’s not a pejorative word anymore.”

.@CLewandowski_: "You can say again, 'Merry Christmas', because Donald Trump is now the president." #Hannity pic.twitter.com/XEyeCB9tfc
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 7, 2016