Majority Changed Holiday Plans Due to Strict Christmas Lockdowns

The holiday season is here, but a little bit different than the ones we had for the past years. Merry-making and gift-giving in various countries around the world will be done virtually or with social distancing as strict COVID-19 measures resulted in Christmas lockdowns.

Europeans, for one, have to prepare their holiday celebrations in accordance with the government-implemented measures across The Netherlands, Italy, and Germany, among others.

Real Research aims to know how the public has perceived this situation. As Christmas is one of the most awaited celebrations for the whole year, how did the citizens feel about celebrating Christmas at home?

Highlights

• Nearly 70% agree that governments have implemented nationwide Christmas lockdowns to control the spread of the coronavirus.
• Over 30,000 citizens had to change their holiday plans based on the COVID-19 restrictions on their location.
• More than half of the respondents agree that the Christmas celebration in 2020 is different compared to previous Christmas seasons. Yet, most people still described their Christmas mood to be ‘happy’.
• Almost 40% think that during this festive season, it is ‘essential’ for everyone to stay-at-home.
• Due to strict Christmas lockdowns, 30% of the respondents would ‘definitely consider’ moving to another location and celebrate the special occasion.

Nationwide Christmas Lockdowns

When asked if they agree with governments implementing nationwide Christmas lockdowns, nearly 70% answered on a varying extent — ‘strongly agree’ and ‘agree’. On the other hand, only a small percentage (~4%) strongly disagrees with this decision.

Countries within the UK and other European nations have to comply with strict COVID-19 measures during the holiday season. Shops are closed and travel bans are imposed. These are all done mainly to reduce close contact that makes COVID-19 transmission a higher risk.

A great deal of the respondents think that Christmas lockdowns are an effective way to control the spread of the coronavirus. 35% believe that it is ‘very likely’ to be effective while 25% consider it to be ‘somewhat likely’. Coming in third with approximately 2% difference are those that answered ‘neutral’. In reality, the effectiveness of the Christmas lockdowns as a COVID-19 preventive measure highly depends if people actually do follow the restrictions.

Nearly 30,000 respondents (~36%) agree that it is indeed ‘essential’ for everyone to stay-at-home during this festive season. Without going outdoors, people have actually come up with creative ideas to spend Christmas celebrations in the comforts of their homes.

Moreover, 25% think that staying at home is only a ‘medium priority’ while almost 20% think that it is a ‘low priority’. This public response implies that even with strict lockdown implementations nationwide, many are still open to go outside or celebrate their Christmas in other places than home. Less than 10% shows disinterest in this issue while over 10% think that it is ‘not a priority’.

Christmas Celebration 2020

Christmas is one of the most exciting holidays where people usually gather around and spend time together. Yet, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, people had to adjust their holiday plans. Over 40% — the majority — had to change their plans based on restrictions implemented in their area.

Despite that, a large share of the population still affirmed that they will stick to their plans despite the restrictions. Therefore, the strict Christmas lockdowns did not have a negative impact on the general Christmas celebration plans of the public. The remaining 25% of the respondents were unsure of doing any last-minute changes to their holiday schedule.

Even with the nationwide lockdowns and the COVID-19 situation still causing an adverse impact on society in general, when asked to describe their Christmas mood for 2020, the majority still answered ‘happy’. It might be true that this Christmas is different compared to other Christmas seasons, but despite the pandemic within us, the holiday vibe is still felt by the majority.

More than 15,000 respondents each have responded that they feel ‘lively’ as well as ‘depressed’. Taking this into consideration, those who may be spending their Christmas with their families at home remain to be positive while those that are away from home are feeling down.

Although broadly speaking, people are happy for Christmas, they would still ‘definitely consider’ moving to another location without any Christmas lockdown to celebrate. Regardless, over 20%  ‘would not consider’ moving and would gladly stay within their current location.