---
title: "Many Millennials see Christmas as more cultural than religious holiday"
description: "Millennials are less religious than older Americans and less likely to identify with a religious group, and those traits are reflected in the way they celebrate Christmas."
date: "2015-12-18"
authors:
  - name: "Michael Lipka"
    job_title: "Associate Director, Research"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/michael-lipka/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/12/18/many-millennials-see-christmas-as-more-cultural-than-religious-holiday/"
categories:
  - "Age & Generations"
  - "Christianity"
  - "Comparison of Generations"
  - "Millennials"
  - "Non-Religion & Secularism"
---

# Many Millennials see Christmas as more cultural than religious holiday

[![Is Christmas more a religious or cultural holiday?](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/12/FT_15.12.22_christmasMillennials_religiousCultural420px.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=275932)

Millennials are[ less religious](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/11/23/millennials-are-less-religious-than-older-americans-but-just-as-spiritual/) than older Americans and [less likely to identify with a religious group](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/05/12/millennials-increasingly-are-driving-growth-of-nones/), and those traits are reflected in the way they celebrate Christmas. Nine-in-ten Millennials say they take part in Christmas, but only four-in-ten say they do so mainly as a religious holiday, according to a [survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/12/18/celebrating-christmas-and-the-holidays-then-and-now/) we conducted in 2013.

[![Belief that Jesus Christ was born to a virgin](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/12/FT_15.12.22_christmasMillennials_virginBirth420px.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=275934)

That stands in contrast to those in older generations, who in some cases are more likely to say they celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, attend religious services for Christmas and believe Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, according to a new look at the data.

Instead, 43% of Millennials say Christmas to them is more of a *cultural* holiday – about as many as celebrate it as a religious holiday (40%). By contrast, members of older generations are more likely to say they celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. Among Baby Boomers, for example, more than twice as many see Christmas as more religious (56%) than cultural (26%).

[![Plans for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/12/FT_15.12.22_christmasMillennials_EveDay420px.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/12/18/many-millennials-see-christmas-as-more-cultural-than-religious-holiday/ft_15-12-22_christmasmillennials_eveday420px/)

Similarly, about half of Millennials (49%) said before Christmas in 2013 that they did *not* plan to attend religious services on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, compared with 41% of Boomers and 35% of Silent generation members. And while fully one-quarter of Millennials (26%) say they do *not* they believe Jesus Christ was born to a virgin, about one-in-five or fewer among older generations say the same.

[![Christmas and holiday traditions by ge](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/12/FT_15.12.22_christmasMillennials_traditions420px.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/12/18/many-millennials-see-christmas-as-more-cultural-than-religious-holiday/ft_15-12-22_christmasmillennials_traditions420px/)

Despite these religious differences, Millennials celebrate many of the cultural parts of Christmas at roughly equal rates to older Americans – and sometimes at even higher rates. For instance, about nine-in-ten Millennials (91%) said they planned to buy gifts for friends or family during the 2013 holiday season, higher than the share of members of the Silent generation (79%) and Baby Boomers (86%) who said the same. And Millennials are at least as likely as their elders to say they planned to attend a gathering with extended family or friends, put up a Christmas tree or go caroling.

The one exception among the cultural traditions mentioned in the survey is the sending of Christmas or holiday cards. Members of the Silent generation (76%), Baby Boomers (68%) and Generation Xers (65%) are all more likely than Millennials (57%) to say they send such cards.