OTTAWA — Canadians have weighed in on the "Christmas" versus "Holiday" label to describe this time of the year and there is a clear winner.

A fat majority of 71 per cent says it should be referred to as the "Christmas Season" because that is the "original meaning and purpose of the holiday," says a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for Postmedia News and Global National.

Close to three in 10 said it should be called the "holiday" season because "not everyone celebrates Christmas and it's important to be inclusive of other religions and cultures."

Although almost eight in 10 say they will have a Christmas tree, Canadians are increasingly less gung-ho about some once sacred Christmas traditions, the poll suggests.

Among the findings:

- Three in 10 Canadians said they will go to church for Christmas, down 18 points from three years ago. Atlantic Canadians were the most likely to say they would go to church at 45 per cent, followed by residents of the prairies at about 36 per cent.

- Three in 10 will have a nativity scene in their home, down 18 points from 2007.

- A tiny majority of 52 per cent will hang stockings, down eight points from 2007.

- Only 75 per cent will have turkey for dinner, down six points from three years ago.

While support for calling the season Christmas was very strong at this point, the survey suggests support for using "holiday" season will pick up over time.

Support for calling the season Christmas was greatest — 79 per cent — among those age 55 and older, a figure that shrank to 56 per cent among those 18 to 45 years of age, the poll says.

Canadians living west of Quebec — 71 per cent or more — were the most likely to believe the season should be called Christmas. By comparison, only 68 per cent of Atlantic Canadians and 63 per cent of Quebecers took that position.

A majority of 59 per cent says the most important thing about Christmas is that it's "a time for family," while only two in 10 said the most important thing is reflecting on the birth of Jesus Christ.

Fewer than one in 10 said it was mostly a time for sharing and gift giving or simply a nice festive season in the middle of winter.

The survey, conducted Dec. 9-14, involved online interviews with 1,044 of Ipsos Reid's online panelists.

A survey of that size has an estimated margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Twitter.com/nrgreenaway