The Christmas spirit touched everyone this last year.  Our surveys conducted throughout the months of December and January gave some valuable insights into the minds and hearts of the local population of our wonderful city. There was a large proportion who returned their responses on our survey. There was a total of 780 persons who returned their responses. Interestingly on about 38 persons did not participate in the survey saying that they did not have the time or were not interested in participating in the survey. Also, there were about 182 incomplete responses to our questionnaire of which about 20 had been badly smudged or even totally illegible. Therefore, the attempt to obtain responses from 1000 persons during Christmas was secluded to somewhat lesser responses from those revelling in the Christmas spirit of 2023.

The objective had been to administer the questionnaire to an equal number of men and women. However, the number of women were slightly more than the number of men.

Table-1: Gender distribution of participants in the Survey

While the women participants were more it cannot be said that they were more eager to participate in the survey. It was just coincidence that some of the responses given by the males turned out to be incomplete and could not be admitted. This probably a reflection of the care women took to respond to the survey despite being caught in the spate of the Christmas shopping and making necessary arrangements for purchasing and packaging personalised gifts. It may be attributed to the fact that the women were more careful and generous with their participation as they felt it was of significance for someone.

The age category of the participants of the survey was as follows:

Table-2: Distribution According to the Age Group of the Participants

Almost all the age groups showed a beautiful spirit of giving this Christmas season. Along with celebrations and gaiety there was the joviality and happiness that could be seen in all the age groups. The teenagers, the youth, the middle aged and the senior citizens all were conscious of the season’s significance and were in the giving mode. Our teams observed that everyone, whether young or old was genial in giving responses, especially on the Christmas activities they indulged in on a regular basis and also some of the new things they were going to be taking on and the manner in which they were going to celebrate Christmas.

It was interesting to see that the spirit of Christmas pervaded all the age groups while the greatest enthusiasm was palpated among the younger persons, the older respondents were more inclined to stick to the traditional forms of celebrating Christmas, their pace was much slower and they were inclined to give more time to the surveyors.

Spirit of Charity – Formal system of Giving

Many of the participants in the survey had their own special charities to which they regularly gave various forms of support. The participants were asked to note the different ways in which they gave to society in general during the season of giving. The results showed that there were distinctive categories of the ‘givers’. There were some who gave in a selfless manner and did not stop to consider how much they had and how much they would like to give. The Table-3 below is a description of the various ways in which people give to their favourite charities, some specific institution or for some particular community or was simply directed towards doing ‘good deeds’ at every opportunity that presented itself. Our teams spotted and interacted with many of the people in malls, shopping areas and even pubs and eating joints. Our survey results show the following:

  Table-3: Feeling the Christmas Spirit in Giving 

It was observed that the maximum people were generous in giving rich donations and gifts during the Christmas season. There was a general spirit of giving in every heart. All the respondents reported how they did their best to give of their resources to ensure that some more people besides themselves could be enabled to be a part of the season’s festivities. It seemed that there was a warmth much stronger than the cold weather that was thawing the busy time schedule bound hearts of people to get into the spirit of things and give to the maximum of their resources and even their efforts. The overall objective seemed to be of giving some relief to their fellow beings over and above what they were already doing all through the year. Their efforts made them enjoy the miracles filled spirit of the Christmas season.

It is interesting to note that there were also some of the respondents who said that they gave some monetary considerations to religious institutions, favourite charities and non-profits.

Among those who were regularly giving to their favourite charities

Table-4: Donations to Charities

There were several respondents who were eager to give donations to their favourite charities. The above Table-4 shows how the devout have quoted their favourite religious charities where they prefer to give their substantial contributions during the Christmas festivities. It was observed that a significant proportion of the respondents who participated in the survey were deeply devoted and accepted the miracles of Christmas. Their belief was to give a major portion of their earning to their favourite charities so that the funds could be used in a number of beneficial ways for the poor and the needy of the community.

The participants in the survey were asked to describe briefly what the Christmas season meant to them. Their responses have been shown to give an idea of the high value placed on the magical, mystical atmosphere of the Christmas season that exists in the hearts of men and women even in 2023. Here are some of the poignant and most touching responses.

Rejoicing Expressions of Christmas

1. I look forward to this season every year. No matter how the year may have gone it is during the Christmas time that the magic happens and all the aches and pins melt away. There is hope and happiness in every heart.”
2. “It is a time of celebration – the king of kings is born, Jesus Christ has the power to take away all our ills and give to us a life of hope, achievement and satisfaction. It is a time when miracles happen”.
3. “Families await Christmas holidays to be rejoined. It is a time when grandparents and grandchildren get together. There is excitement and expectation as the children are treated to sumptuous fare. The traditional foods at yule tide, the quaint ceremonies like Christmas cookies making and cake baking sessions and also the fun and gaiety that marks the processes of catching up with all the news, visiting friends and having several social events. It is indeed a magical time for the entire community.”
4. “It is a heady experience to be home. It is very different from other times. It is almost as if somebody had thrown tonnes of sparkles in the air. It is a magical time. There are lights everywhere. All hearts seemed tuned in to a mystical music station that has filled the air with blessings and serenity. It is a special and very rare feeling of blessedness”.
5. “There are so many occasions to dress up and sit with family and friends that most of the time we are simply enjoying each other’s company which we hardly ever get during the year. In fact, Christmas time always reminds me that an entire year has gone by. Christmas Eve, Christmas, Thanksgiving – all the occasions rush pass in party-like atmosphere. Time flies away only too soon and we have to return to our mundane everyday lives. Then we go back to dream of and wait for another magical another Christmas.’
6. “Selecting the Christmas tree and taking out the traditional family Christmas tree ornaments and sitting around decorating the tree with the entire family is my favourite time of Christmas. For me, Christmas is family time, it symbolises warmth, love, blessings and the mystique of wishes coming true for many persons, in many different ways.”

“Christmas is enjoyed by all and sundry. It is a great equalizer. The boss and employees all get together and celebrate the Christmas spirit as they feel the spirit of kindness, generosity and geniality. From the highest station to the lowest functionary – all are treated with the greatest respect and kindness, There is a feeling of caring and humility that saturates the atmosphere everywhere.