Texas doesn’t have much Christmas spirit? Bah humbug.
Wow.
Sure it’s probably warmer in Texas around Dec. 25 than in many states. And it’s not often we get a white Christmas here.
But Texans love and celebrate this holiday season as much as people in any other state.
Apparently not everyone agrees with that, according to a new study.
Texas’ Christmas spirit ranks 43rd nationally, according to a study by GetCenturyLink.
Some of the methodology used to determine Christmas spirit includes reviewing, by state, Google searches for Christmas movies and gingerbread houses, as well as shopping trends for Christmas cards, ornaments and the “Elf on a Shelf.”
Not only that, but the study checked out the number of tweets related to the holiday season, the number of Christmas songs streamed online, the number of Christmas tree farms and how much each state gives in charitable donations.
All that landed Texas at No. 43.
But at least the Lone Star State was ahead of New Mexico, New Jersey, Arizona, Florida, California, Hawaii and Nevada.
“Perhaps the lack of snow points to why it’s harder for these warmer states to tap into their Holiday cheer,” the study stated.
Maybe those conducting the study simply never heard that everything — including Christmas — is bigger in Texas.
Tarrant County is well known for Christmas festivities, such as the the Gift of Lights at Texas Motor Speedway, the Interlochen holiday light display in Arlington and the simple fact that Grapevine is known as the Christmas Capital of Texas.
Not only that, but the Fort Worth skyline for decades has been featured for the “Famous Holiday Festival of Lights” in this “Christmas City.”
So what are the most Christmassy states?
Tennessee, North Carolina, Utah, Ohio and Alabama.
“Tennessee has the most Christmas spirit, scoring a top ten ranking in the categories Christmas tweets, Christmas music listening, and Google searches for ‘Christmas movies,’” according to the study.
South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Rhode Island and Kansas rounded out the top 10 states with the most spirit.
The study singled out Alaska, which ranked 40th, because it was No. 1 in two categories: The number of Christmas tweets and in searches for Christmas cards on Google shopping.
And Utah may have come in No. 3, but the Beehive State is the most generous. IRS records showed residents there donated 4.8% of their adjusted income last year, the study shows.
