A plurality of Americans consider Thanksgiving “one of our nation’s most important holidays,” a Rasmussen Reports survey released Wednesday found.
The survey asked respondents, “Do you consider Thanksgiving to be one of our nation’s most important holidays, least important holidays or somewhere in between?”
A plurality, 46 percent, said it is one of the “most important,” while 41 percent said it is “somewhere in between.” Ten percent said it is the “least important.”
Most Republicans, 52 percent, consider it one of the most important holidays, while 49 percent of Democrats and 40 percent of independents agree. Rasmussen Reports noted that Americans have “consistently ranked Christmas as the nation’s most important holiday, followed by the Fourth of July.”
Per the survey:
Forty-seven percent (47%) of whites, 48% of blacks and 44% of other minorities rate Thanksgiving as one of America’s most important holidays. Whites (81%) are more likely than blacks (70%) or other minorities (75%) to be planning a get-together with family or friends for the holiday.
More men (25%) than women (19%) plan to be traveling this Thanksgiving, and men are also more likely to think Thanksgiving is one of the most important holidays.
The survey also found that while 78 percent of respondents are planning on getting together with friends or family on the holiday, just 22 percent are traveling “away” for Thanksgiving — down from 27 percent who said the same last year.
It was taken November 16 and 19-20 among 1,088 American adults and has a +/- 3 percent margin of error. It coincides with other holiday-themed surveys, one of which found that six out of ten voters hope to avoid talking about politics during the holiday celebrations this year. Nevertheless, 29 percent of voters are “eager” to talk about politics this holiday season.
Last year, 13 percent admitted in a Economist/YouGov survey that a political disagreement has “ruined” the holiday before.