York is the UK city most obsessed with Christmas, according to new research released ahead of the upcoming festive season.
The study by Barratt Homes analysed over 5.8 million tweets from the past two Christmas periods to reveal which cities in the UK post the highest number of festive tweets.
York is not only home to the UK’s most fervent festive tweeters, but the famous cathedral city is also home to the biggest fans of Christmas, with the highest number of tweets with a positive sentiment.
What’s more, the analysis revealed the most common Christmas themed questions on Brits minds’ during the festive season, with the most Googled question each year being: “How Many Days Until Christmas?’.
York is home to the biggest Christmas fans in the UK
| Top 10 UK Cities Obsessed With Tweeting About Christmas | ||||
| City | Tweets per Capita | % of Positive Tweets | % of Negative Tweets | % of Neutral Tweets |
| 1. York | 240,295 | 37% | 14% | 49% |
| 2. Lisburn | 182,840 | 34% | 18% | 48% |
| 3. Southend-on-Sea | 116,406 | 32% | 16% | 52% |
| 4. Carlisle | 95,789 | 34% | 16% | 50% |
| 5. Peterborough | 87,467 | 32% | 16% | 52% |
| 6. Plymouth | 80,596 | 34% | 15% | 51% |
| 7. Swansea | 78,760 | 31% | 17% | 52% |
| 8. Leicester | 66,038 | 33% | 16% | 51% |
| 9. Stoke-on-Trent | 65,375 | 33% | 16% | 51% |
| 10. Aberdeen | 56,314 | 30% | 18% | 52% |
Of the 39 cities analysed, the research revealed that York is the most Christmas-obsessed city. The housebuilder found that people based in York post over 240,000 tweets per 10,000 residents.
The cathedral city in North Yorkshire, which is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its famous St Nicholas Fair this year, festive tweets are more than double all, but one, other city in the study.
Lisburn, Southend, Carlisle, and Peterborough make up the rest of the top five.
| The Most Positive Christmas Season Tweets by City | ||||
| City | Tweets per Capita | % of Positive Tweets | % of Negative Tweets | % of Neutral Tweets |
| 1. York | 240,295 | 37% | 14% | 49% |
| 2. Lincoln | 33,297 | 36% | 15% | 49% |
| 3. Lisburn | 182,840 | 34% | 18% | 48% |
| 4. Carlisle | 95,789 | 34% | 16% | 50% |
| 5. Plymouth | 80,596 | 34% | 15% | 51% |
| 6. Liverpool | 30,742 | 34% | 16% | 50% |
| 7. Gloucester | 24,345 | 34% | 14% | 52% |
| 8. Leicester | 66,038 | 33% | 16% | 51% |
| 9. Stoke-on-Trent | 65,375 | 33% | 16% | 51% |
| 10. Kingston Upon Hull | 52,909 | 33% | 14% | 53% |
The analysis of over 5.8 million tweets also found York to have the highest percentage of tweets full of festive cheer – 37% in total with a positive sentiment.
By contrast, just 14% of the city’s tweets about Christmas were negative. Salisbury was the only city with a lower percentage at 11%.
The UK’s most Googled Christmas questions
| Most Googled Christmas Questions | ||
| Google Search | No. of Annual Searches | |
| 1. | How Many Days Until Christmas | 918,000 |
| 2. | Where Is Santa | 204,000 |
| 3. | What Day Is Christmas | 175,800 |
| 4. | How Many Reindeer Does Santa Have | 150,100 |
| 5. | How Many Days Is Christmas | 61,100 |
| 6. | How To Decorate A Christmas Tree | 59,000 |
| 7. | How Old Is Santa | 58,150 |
| 8. | What To Write In A Christmas Card | 52,300 |
| 9. | When Is Christmas Jumper Day | 47,100 |
| 10. | How To Draw A Christmas Tree | 44,500 |
| 11. | How To Make A Christmas Wreath | 42,750 |
| 12. | What Do I Want For Christmas | 42,350 |
| 13. | What To Put In A Christmas Eve Box | 39,950 |
| 14. | How To Draw Santa | 37,400 |
| 15. | How Many Gifts In 12 Days Of Christmas | 35,650 |
| 16. | How To Put Lights On A Christmas Tree | 31,250 |
| 17. | How To Draw A Reindeer | 30,100 |
| 18. | When Do The 12 Days Of Christmas Start | 29,750 |
| 19. | What Are The Names Of Santa’s Reindeer | 27,450 |
| 20. | When Are The 12 Days Of Christmas | 26,900 |
Further analysis of Google search data also revealed the most popular questions the UK asks Google during the festive season.
The question people are most curious to know the answer to, is “How Many Days Until Christmas?” (918,000 annual searches), followed by “Where Is Santa?” (204,000 annual searches) and “What Day Is Christmas?” (175,800 annual searches).
Also, among the most popular questions are Santa themed queries such as “How Old Is Santa?”, “How to Draw Santa” and “How Many Reindeer Does Santa Have?”.
If you’re unsure about what you want for Christmas this year, why not ask Google? “What do I want for Christmas?” is the 12th most popular Christmas question people searched for over 40,000 times over the festive period.
Steve Mariner, Sales and Marketing Director at Barratt Homes, commented: “Although times have been hard in the UK for the past couple of years, the festive season brings the opportunity for a more positive outlook.
“With Barratt Homes having a strong presence in many of the communities included in this research, it’s great to see that the festive cheer is especially strong in the city of York, which is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its famous St Nicholas Fair this year”
More information about the study can be found at https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/cities-most-obsessed-with-christmas/
