Every family has one, so Hershey’s decided to dig a little deeper to uncover how families are spending their time together, narrowing it down to the top 10 most popular traditions nationwide and state by state. 71 percent of people find it important to celebrate traditions around the holiday season, while 76 percent still celebrate the traditions from their childhood. Overall, the most popular tradition for 69 percent of survey respondents was decorating the Christmas tree. There’s something so comforting about coming together to put up the tree and deck it out with ornaments, bulbs, and more. Exchanging gifts, watching a favorite holiday movie, decorating the home, and going to look at holiday lights/decorations rounded out the top five. Other traditional pastimes mentioned in the survey included drinking hot cocoa, baking a holiday treat, hanging or filling stockings, listening to or caroling favorite holiday songs, and playing in the snow. The brand also suggested a pairing guide for their sweet candy treats to go along with holiday traditions to make them extra memorable. “Hershey knows that magical feeling of being surrounded by loved ones and cherishing every moment this special season brings,” said Katie Behrman, associate brand manager, seasons, at The Hershey Company. “We want to help transform those sweet moments into lifelong memories by adding an extra element of delight with our seasonal products like HERSHEY’S KISSES in festive foils, new HERSHEY’S Milk Chocolate Hot Chocolate Bombs and Rolo® Creamy Caramels Wrapped in Rich Chocolate.” Here are the traditions broken down by state:
Decorating the Christmas tree – Utah (82%), New York (79%), Vermont (79%), Tennessee (78%), Washington (77%), North Dakota (76%), Louisiana (75%), Pennsylvania (75%), Montana (74%), Oklahoma (74%), Rhode Island (74%), Arizona (72%), Massachusetts (68%), Delaware (67%), Illinois (64%)Exchanging gifts – Idaho (79%), Connecticut (76%), Michigan (75%), Georgia (74%), South Dakota (74%), Iowa (73%), Maryland (73%), New Jersey (73%), South Carolina (73%), Wyoming (73%), Kansas (72%), Missouri (72%), Ohio (72%), Wisconsin (72%), Oregon (71%), Hawaii (70%), Minnesota (70%), Colorado (68%), Virginia (67%), Alaska (66%), Nevada (62%)Watching a favorite holiday movie – New Mexico (81%), Florida (73%), Indiana (73%), Mississippi (72%), New Hampshire (71%), California (70%), North Carolina (65%), Texas (63%), Nebraska (61%)Going to look at holiday lights/decorations - Kentucky (80%), Alabama (77%), West Virginia (69%), Arkansas (68%), Maine (67%)
You can see the full breakdown in the graphic provided by Hershey’s, along with their suggested candy pairing: Hershey’s surveyed 5,000 people between Nov. 17 and Nov. 28, 2022, via research company OnePoll.
