Most households in Nigeria spend an average of 196percent of their monthly income on decorations, gifts, and meals to celebrate Christmas, according to a new study by WorldRemit.
In line with the exciting time of the holiday and as families make plans to celebrate the Christmas season with unique traditions, once-a-year meals, gifts and more, WorldRemit conducted a multi-country study to determine the true cost of Christmas in 14 countries.
Data were mined across the 14 countries to showcase the average costs of traditional Christmas meals, decorations and gifts.
Out of the 14 countries observed, data showed Rwandans are most impacted by the disparity between average household income and holiday costs, spending 708percent of their monthly income, which accounts for nearly 60percent of their annual income on the holiday.
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Meanwhile, households in the Philippines spend 257percent of their monthly income on the holiday.
In the region, Christmas celebrations begin in September and extend into January, making it challenging for many families to afford the basic costs of Christmas.
According to the study, celebrating Christmas would be near impossible in households of some of the countries observed without remittances from Diasporas especially the Philippines.
Currently, more than 244 million people are classified as immigrants around the world and account for large percentages of populations in countries like the United States (14.4percent of the total population), the UK (9percent), Australia (30percent) and Canada (21.5percent).
According to the study, during the holidays, immigrants and overseas foreign workers are often unable to celebrate with their families in person and find themselves working to support not only themselves but also their families and communities back home.
Christmas is one of the primary reasons immigrants and migrants send money back to their home country, the study states, owing to the high cost of coveted seasonal items, food, and the overall impact COVID has had on supply chain and inflation, it is vital for remittance senders to be able to support those dearest to them by helping make Christmas a reality for their loved ones.
The report adds that the 14 countries observed that typically receive remittances, 10 spent more than 50percent of their monthly household income on the holiday.
A holiday that would be impossible without remittances, the season of giving becomes vital, where the world’s largest send markets typically only spend less than 3percent of their annual income on the holiday, it states.
