These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
Christmas is still number one as far as most Americans are concerned.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 69% of Adults rate Christmas as one of our nation's most important holidays. Only three percent (3%) label Christmas as one of the least important holidays, while 26% say it's somewhere in between. (To see survey question wording, click here )
This is up slightly from this time last year and puts Christmas just ahead of the 63% who consider the Fourth of July one of the country's most important holidays .
Sixty-four percent (64%) of Americans plan on attending a religious service this holiday season, showing little change from last year. Twenty-nine percent (29%) don't plan on attending a service.
But then 87% of Americans celebrate Christmas in their family, and 70% of that group recognize it as a religious holiday celebrating the birth of Christ rather than a secular one .
The survey of 1,000 Adults nationwide was conducted on December 22, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC . See methodology .
Generally, Christmas and the Fourth of July are the holidays rated most important by Americans. Thanksgiving, Memorial Day and Veterans Day are just below but are much more popular than Halloween and St. Patrick's Day.
Those who attend religious services at least two or three times a month are more passionate about Christmas than those who occasionally attend church or those who don't attend services at all.
At the same time, Evangelical Christians are more inclined to regard Christmas as one of the most important holidays than Protestants and Catholics are.
Older adults are more likely to attend a religious service than those who are younger. Women are more inclined to go to a service than men.
Eighty-one percent (81%) of all adults say they will have a large dinner with friends and family on Christmas, while 14% will not.
Two-out-of-three (66%) Americans will open gifts on Christmas morning. Twenty percent (20%) plan to open their gifts the night before. Another 15% are undecided.
Separate polling finds that one-in-three adults still have holiday gift shopping left to do with Christmas only two days away.
Despite the stress and the expense of shopping at this time of year, Americans overwhelmingly like the idea of giving gifts .
Most Americans plan to celebrate Christmas with their families this year, but many indicate that they are having difficulty getting into the holiday spirit .
Guess Americans have been a little nicer this year. More Adults think Santa will find them on his nice list this Christmas season compared to last year.