All countries agree that one of the best things about Christmas is seeing family and friends.
But after that, views on what people prefer about the festive season that marks the birth of Christ vary considerably – and are revealing about what life is like in different nations.
While Brits love Christmas, more than a third of French people admit they are dreading it.
For the UK, Sweden and Australia, having time off work ranks with spending time with friends and family for what people like best about Christmas.
Giving presents and the Christmas Day meal are also favourites for the Brits.
In France, by contrast, time off work is not so important to them. Instead, they like Christmas lights – and their meal on Christmas Eve.
In Germany, giving presents and Christmas decorations rank highly. But it was Australians who liked giving presents most – followed by the UK.
The French were most likely to say that receiving presents was important to them, while Americans liked giving presents and putting up the decorations.
The survey was carried out by YouGov’s international omnibus team.
Overall, when the survey was carried out, Germans liked Christmas the most. Americans and Brits were also big fans of Christmas, the survey found when it was carried out in November.
Police have of course stepped up security in Christmas markets across Britain and elsewhere in Europe, so the survey results must now be read in the context of these subsequent events and of the heightened security around the festivities.
People from Italy, France and Spain were least likely to enjoy Christmas. Large numbers of Germans and Swedes have no Christmas tree and more than three-quarters of Italians confessed to having an artificial tree last year.
