Every December, the same false story makes the rounds: suicides spike during the holidays. It’s wrong. It’s been wrong for decades. And yet, journalists keep writing it.
The actual data tells a different story. December consistently shows the year’s lowest average daily suicide rate in the U.S. The Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania has tracked this for over 20 years. Last year’s CDC data? December had the fewest suicides per day of any month. Still, the myth persists.
A Myth That Won’t Die
During the 2024-25 holiday season, APPC found 19 news stories claiming suicides increase around Christmas and New Year’s. Sure, 82 stories debunked the myth, but here’s the catch: 80 of those were reprints of a single column. The fact-checking barely made a dent.
The public believes it too. An APPC survey from 2023 found four out of five adults think December has the most suicides. They’re picking the wrong month entirely.
What makes this particularly troubling is how media outlets quote local authorities who reinforce the myth. A December 2024 story in The Capital Gazette in Annapolis mentioned a police event “when police said domestic violence and suicides typically rise” during the holidays. The Fremont Tribune in Nebraska quoted the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office:
“Tragically, the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s has historically seen a rise in suicides and suicide attempts, often due to factors like loneliness, financial pressures, family conflict or grief.”
That quote sounds authoritative. It’s also factually incorrect.
The confusion likely stems from mixing two separate issues. Yes, people feel lonely during the holidays. Yes, financial stress and family tensions are real. But those feelings don’t translate into higher suicide rates, a distinction that gets lost when officials and journalists conflate emotional struggle with actual mortality data.
When the Real Risk Happens
Dan Romer, APPC’s research director, puts it plainly: “People may feel sadness around the holidays for various reasons, but they should not get the false impression that this sadness has led to a higher suicide rate.” The danger isn’t just misinformation. It’s misdirection.
CDC data shows the months with the lowest suicide rates cluster in late autumn and winter: November, December, January. The highest rates? Summer months, particularly August and July. This pattern even holds in the southern hemisphere, suggesting it’s tied to seasonal changes rather than holiday stress or cheer.
For journalists, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. National reporting guidelines on suicide, developed by journalism and mental health organizations, specifically warn against promoting information that lacks factual basis, particularly claims about seasonal spikes that could increase contagion effects.
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, and Romer argue the holiday myth does real harm by pulling attention away from when people are actually most at risk. Their suggestion: use media reach to promote the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline year-round, especially during those summer months when the data shows elevated risk.
But awareness of 988 remains surprisingly low. An APPC survey from August 2025 found only 12% of U.S. adults could recall the three-digit number without prompting. That’s despite significant improvements from previous years.
Romer frames the issue this way:
“The holiday myth diverts attention from the fact that suicide is a far greater risk at other times of the year. Efforts to be aware of those risks without sensationalizing its seasonality is a challenge, but it’s one that can be met…”
The choice for newsrooms is straightforward: keep recycling an unfounded myth, or report what the data actually shows and direct readers to resources that save lives. The evidence points firmly in one direction.
APPC compiled this analysis by searching LexisNexis and NewsBank databases from November 15, 2024, through January 31, 2025, for articles combining “suicide” with holiday-related terms.
The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania: 10.1002/mar.20239
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