31 Fun Facts About Sex During the Holidays Pt. 1

2. Men also crave more sex when it’s cold out

Another reason to buy that red sweater you had your eye on…and then take it off. A study found that men who looked at photos of women in the summertime and again in the wintertime found the women sexier during the second test because bare skin comes is a rarer sight during colder months!

3. And men aren’t just wrapping their Christmas presents

According to For Hims, condom sales show a huge increase in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

4. At the same time, high conception rates are not just a Christmas story

The holiday season is known for its high conception rate, which observers can pick out based on a yearly spike in September birth rates. A British midwife once even took to Twitter to make the case of abstinence to her fellow Brits since the delivery ward she worked was struggling to accommodate people in labor.

5. Men are more open to getting frisky at their in-laws’ house

According to a Yahoo! Travel survey, 49% are okay with “going to bed early” at a friend’s or relative’s house, while only 29% of women say the same.

6. And women are more open to saying, “To ho ho hell with it.”

The same survey found that 21% of women asked what they would be willing to give up in exchange for a completely stress-free holiday chose sex. (Although we bet they might benefit from going solo.) Only 13% of men said the same.

7. You might be surprised by the number of creative, cold holiday-related sex positions

Our favorite examples include “Tied Up with a Bow” and “The Stocking Stuffer.” Don’t forget “The Miracle of Oil” either—a stress-relieving massage is not only a great exercise in giving and receiving, it’s also a great gateway to getting down.

8. People have sex in their collective unconscious during holiday periods

This goes for both religious and cultural holidays. Researchers found that Google searches and tweets in over 130 countries revealed a large uptick in searches for “sex” and other sex-related terms during holiday-times internationally, including Christmas and Eid-al-Fitr (the end of Ramadan) in Muslim-majority countries. This was coupled with a higher birth rate 9 months later (see also #8).

9. Meanwhile, Festivus is a secular holiday “of playful consumer resistance.”

As we all know, the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas season can run high. In answer, the December 23rd “Festivus for the rest of us” includes a dinner, an unadorned aluminum Festivus pole (um, coincidence? We think not) and labeling easily explainable events as “Festivus miracles.” In this vein, see #6 for a good Festivus gift idea.

10. Some LGBTQ+ African Americans embrace Kwanzaa for the best of reasons

Ebony contributor Kimberley McLeod discusses why many LGBT African Americans embrace Kwanzaa, a winter celebration of pan-African culture: “It’s the hybridity of being both Black and LGBT—existing, surviving, sustaining and thriving at intersectional identities—that makes Kwanzaa so appealing to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender African-Americans.”

11. Shabbat, a weekly holy day for Jews, specifically encourages intimacy

Rabbi Naftali Brawer explains that “Intimacy is encouraged on Shabbat not so much as a means to procreate as it is to create a bond between husband and wife.” Two Torah passages discuss sexual relations: The first, to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28), and the second, for the husband to ensure he sexually satisfies his wife (Exodus 21:10). These are independent from each other, “and so the obligation to make love to one’s wife applies to couples regardless as to whether they wish to, or are capable of, conceiving.”

12. The Latin American holiday Pastorela puts a sexy twist on being a shepherd

In Mexico, Pastorela is a theatrical representation of the birth of Jesus from the perspective of a group of shepherds. On the way to Bethlehem, they’re tempted numerous times by the Devil, often represented by a sexy woman or man that will try to prevent them from arriving to see the child. This is commonly used by people who love to wear costumes or role-play for sex, where one of the partners plays the innocent and good-hearted “shepherd” and the other is the sexy demon trying to tempt them.

13. Let’s not forget about getting hot and heavy during the winter solstice

Der winter solstice happens twice a year when one of Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun. Scandinavian and Germanic pagans burned Yule logs and feasted as a means of welcoming the return of the sun and hoping for new life. Meanwhile, Refinery29 recommends celebrating in the bedroom by lighting candles to bring back the light, using a warming lube, taking a hot shower, and enjoying the sexy afterglow by the fireplace.

14. Mistletoe might be losing its magic

In the U.K., almost three-quarters of people under 35 and 38% of people 55+ have never kissed under mistletoe.

15. Insights from Pornhub haben found some naughty tendencies.

During holiday-time, “Santa”-related searches increase by a whopping 447%! Men are 34% more likely to crave Christmas-themed porn than women.

Want to know the most popular popular Christmas-related searches? You’ll have to wait for Pt. 2 of our 31 Fun Facts About Sex During the Holidays