The number of young people spending Christmas Day alone has doubled, according to new research that compares festive attitudes and behaviours in 2024 and 1969
This probably reflects increasing immigration - there will be plenty of people who don’t celebrate christmas so it’s just a bank holiday, or who are alone in the UK without family with them.
For example in 1981, 96% of the population was white british. In 2011 that was down to 87% and in 2021 it’s down to 83%.
It’s not surprising that 10% of young people might spend Christmas alone if nearly 20% of the population is not white (which is largely Christian or secular with some Christian traditions). While some of the non white population may be Christian, it’s not surprising that christmas may not be an important day to Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs.
Also European white migrants who might be christian may celebrate christmas on a different day.
So there is a danger of over interpreting statistics like these. Saying more young people are spending Christmas alone over 50 years is kind of meaningless as it’s a totally different group of young people today than 50 years ago.
This probably reflects increasing immigration - there will be plenty of people who don’t celebrate christmas so it’s just a bank holiday, or who are alone in the UK without family with them.
For example in 1981, 96% of the population was white british. In 2011 that was down to 87% and in 2021 it’s down to 83%.
It’s not surprising that 10% of young people might spend Christmas alone if nearly 20% of the population is not white (which is largely Christian or secular with some Christian traditions). While some of the non white population may be Christian, it’s not surprising that christmas may not be an important day to Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs.
Also European white migrants who might be christian may celebrate christmas on a different day.
So there is a danger of over interpreting statistics like these. Saying more young people are spending Christmas alone over 50 years is kind of meaningless as it’s a totally different group of young people today than 50 years ago.