Oxford named one of the most festive cities in the UK

An analysis of more than 70 million historical newspaper pages found Durham, Cambridge, and York featured in the highest number articles about Christmas between 1861 and 2021.

Oxford came fifth with 0.69 mentions of 'Christmas' per head in historic newspaper articles.

Jen Baldwin, research specialist at Findmypast, the family history site which pored through the papers, said: “Christmas has always been a time of celebration for families across the country, and it’s fascinating to see how the excitement around the festive period builds in varying cities.”

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Durham cathedral is a key factor to it coming top, having a central role in celebrations for centuries.

A specific kind of music called ‘verse anthem’ was played during services at Christmas from as early as the 17th century to the present day, the analysis found.

Cambridge and York rounded out the top three most festive cities, with musical tradition also crucial to Cambridge’s Christmassy reputation.

The annual Carols from King’s College have been broadcast on Christmas Eve since 1954.

Meanwhile, York’s winter celebrations date back all the way to Viking and Roman solstice ceremonies.

To avoid the largest cities coming top due to more festive events happening, the mentions of ‘Christmas’ were weighted against the cities’ average population.

The data also found that Christmas really is getting earlier each year.

Since 1980, the number of 'Christmas' mentions in November have almost trebled, compared to the nearly 200 years before.

Similarly, mentions of other Christmas favourites boomed, too - with the phrase ‘mince pie’ 15 times more likely to be mentioned in November, and more than 10 times more likely to be spotted in October in recent decades.

This reflects current food shopping trends that see shops like Waitrose previewing their Christmas food as early as July.

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Meanwhile, the phrase ‘Christmas tree’ saw a six-fold increase in mentions in November newspapers since 1980.

Jen Baldwin, from Findmypast, added: “Christmas is more than a date on the calendar - it’s a time to get together with loved ones, celebrate family traditions, and promote compassion and goodwill within our communities.

“Discovering how our ancestors marked Christmases past, helps us cherish the diverse ways people around the country have come together to celebrate this occasion.”

THE TOP 10 MOST FESTIVE CITIES

1. Durham: 1.00
2. Cambridge: 0.95
3. York: 0.8
4. Ely: 0.70
5. Oxford: 0.69
6. Lincoln: 0.69
7. Salisbury: 0.67
8. Derby: 0.58
9. Bath: 0.54
10. Exeter: 0.54