Far more Canadians, Americans and Britons will celebrate Christmas with artificial Christmas trees in their houses than real ones, according to a survey released on Friday.
Sixty-two percent of Britons, 58 percent of Canadians and 53 percent of Americans use artificial trees, while only about 16 percent of Americans and Canadians and 14 percent of Britons use fresh trees, according to poll done by Angus Reid Public Opinion.
Nearly a third of the people surveyed in each country said they did not plan to have a tree at all, the survey found.
Most artificial tree users cited convenience as their motivation, and a third felt it was better for the environment, according to the polling firm.
Tradition was the main motivation for users of real trees, and more than a quarter of fresh-tree buyers felt their decision was the better environmental choice.
But politics also figured into the equation.
"Political preferences are a telling indicator as to whether a respondent prefers a real or artificial tree," Angus Reid Public Opinion said in a press release.
"In the United States, 20 percent of Republicans favor an authentic tree, while only 15 percent of Democrats concur. In Canada, a quarter of respondents who voted for the Green Party in the last federal election (24 percent) choose a real tree, while 63 percent of Conservative Party voters go for the imitation tree. In Britain, only 11 percent of Labour Party voters choose a real tree — compared to 18 percent of Conservatives and 15 percent of Liberal Democrats," the statement said.
The poll was conducted online between Dec. 14 and 17, with opinions sought from the 1,000 Canadians, 1,005 Americans and 2,003 Britons who are part of Angus Reid's regular political survey forums in the three countries.
