The tradition of singing carols door-to-door has long been a staple of the British Christmas, but new research showing that the public is increasingly negative about the practice has prompted Ecclesiastical Insurance to launch a national competition to revitalise carolling.

Ecclesiastical has teamed up this year with ChurchAds.net, who are encouraging people to put the Christian message back into Christmas with their ‘Christmas starts with Christ’ advertising campaign.

The competition to compose a new carol in the Christian tradition will form part of the campaign to get Christ back in Christmas and comes as a study by Ecclesiastical reveals that over half the British public is either unhappy or unwilling to have carol singers call at their homes.

The Christmas Factor aims to reinvigorate public support for traditional carolling and ensure it remains at the heart of the Christmas celebrations.

According to the YouGov survey commissioned by Ecclesiastical Insurance, 29% of Britons didn't want carol singers to come to their home while a further 19% said they wouldn't answer the door if carol singers knocked. Three per cent said they would ask carol singers to leave.

Almost three-quarters of Britons (73%) said that carollers are less welcome on the doorstep today than they were in the past.

Bruce Rickards of Ecclesiastical Insurance said: “Our survey’s results made for pretty disheartening reading. I think I won’t be alone in saying that it’s a sad state of affairs that such a time-honoured way of celebrating Christmas should now be seen so negatively. We want to do something about it."

By launching this competition, he said he hoped to make people think again about carols and "see them in a new light".

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