New Yorkers may be accused of being mean and having RBFs (though this map proves otherwise!) but one thing we’re not is a Grinch–so imagine our surprise when this study named New York one of the least festive states at Christmastime!
Innerbody analyzed search trend data to nail down which part of the country is most feeling the holiday spirit this year by tracking each state’s search terms pertaining to Christmas festivities.
Surprisingly, New Yorkers only had 1,432 searched pertaining to Christmas festivities, placing it at #50 in the ranking (with only the District of Columbia below it). In fact, this is the second year in a row New York scored this low.
As for what contributed to New York finding itself on the bottom of the totem pole, it may have something to do with the hoards of tourists that flock to the city during the holiday season, causing miserable, gridlock-like pedestrian traffic.
The study states:
New York is still close to the bottom of the festive list, similar to last year. Perhaps the massive influx of tourists to NYC each Christmas is enough to send New Yorkers into a funk.
As for our opinion, the presence of tourists is the only thing that makes sense as the cause of being considered so Grinch-like. Because while we will avoid tourist-concentrated areas at all costs, what we won’t do is act like a Scrooge.
Besides, if you’re going to say NYC isn’t festive, allow the city’s glittering holiday window displays, festive holiday pop-up bars, curated holiday markets, magical holiday shows and performances, and meticulously decorated restaurants to prove you wrong.
So we don’t know about you, but we’ve been living our best festive lives this holiday season and we’re going to continue to do so!
The full study of the most and least festive states can be found here.