The holiday season, with all its traditions, family gatherings and general rejoicing, is now upon us. To commemorate this time of cheer, the U.S. Census Bureau presents a host of holiday-related facts and figures from its data warehouse.
Christmas Trees, Ornaments & Gifts
$466 million
The amount the nation’s Christmas tree farmers received from tree sales in 2002.
$160 million
The amount received by Christmas tree farmers in Oregon from tree sales in 2002, making the Beaver State the nation’s Christmas tree capital. North Carolina, Washington, Michigan and Ohio round out the top five states in tree sales.
$971 million
The value of U.S. imports of Christmas tree ornaments from China between January and September 2003. China was the leading country of origin for such items. Similarly, China was the leading foreign source of artificial Christmas trees shipped to the United States ($93 million worth).
$30.6 billion
Retail sales by the U.S. toy industry in 2002. Of this amount, $10.3 billion were from the sales of video games. A hefty percentage of these sales resulted from the purchase of holiday gifts. (Source: soon-to-be-released Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003.)
Holiday Names
1
The number of places around the country named “Christmas.” That unincorporated town is Christmas, Fla., which had a population of 1,162 in 2000.
Other places whose names are associated with the holiday season include North Pole, Alaska (population 1,618 in 2002); Santa Claus, Ind. (2,129); Santa Claus, Ga. (238); Noel, Mo. (1,446); and — maybe — the village of Rudolph, Wis. (415).
$219,700
Value of U.S. imports between January and September 2003 from Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Pacific Ocean, south of Hawaii. Perhaps some were “Christmas gifts from Christmas Island.”
Holiday Shopping — The December Rush
The holiday season is critical for retailers. How critical? Well, here are some examples using the most recent Census Bureau data. Note that the estimates that follow have not been adjusted to account for seasonal variations or price changes.
$32.4 billion
Retail sales by the nation’s department stores in December 2002. This represented a 47 percent jump from the previous month (when retail sales, many Christmas-related, registered $21.9 billion). No other month-to-month increase in department store sales last year came near that.
Other U.S. retailers with sizable jumps in sales between November and December 2002 included clothing stores (44 percent); jewelry stores (163 percent); book stores (87 percent); sporting goods stores (59 percent); and radio, TV and other electronics stores (56 percent).
$13.5 billion
Value of electronic shopping and mail-order sales in December 2002, easily the highest month that year.
$13.8 billion
Value of e-commerce sales for the fourth quarter of 2002. This amount, which represented 1.6 percent of total retail sales over the period, was greater than e-commerce sales for any other quarter of the year.
14 percent
Proportion of total 2002 sales for department stores (including leased departments) that took place in December. For jewelry stores, the percentage was 23 percent.
22 percent
Proportion the nation’s department stores built up their inventories between the end of August and the end of November 2002. Thanks to the holiday hordes, inventories plummeted by 23 percent in the year’s final month.
1.9 million
Number of people employed at department stores in December 2002. This number typically swells during the holiday season, last year rising by 55,000 from November and 214,000 from October. Apparel and accessory stores showed similar seasonal employment gains. (Courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
Where are the Gifts Made?
179
Number of establishments around the country that primarily manufactured dolls and stuffed toys in 2001; they employed 2,271 people; their total shipments: $296 million. California led the nation with 29 locations, and New York employed the most, 374.
779
Number of locations that primarily produced games, toys and children’s vehicles in 2001; they employed 21,644 workers and shipped $3.1 billion of goods. California led the nation in these establishments with 117 and Ohio in employees, with 2,972.
$820 million
Value of U.S. imports of stuffed toys (excluding dolls) from China between January and September 2003. China was the leading country of origin for toys, as well as for a number of other popular holiday gifts. These include electric trains ($58 million in exports to the United States over the period); puzzles ($34 million); roller skates ($57 million); sports footwear ($157 million); golf equipment ($32 million); and basketballs ($35 million). Canada was the leading supplier of ice skates ($15 million).
Where Holiday Gifts are Purchased
11,086
The number of electronic shopping and mail-order houses in business in 2001. These businesses, which employed 280,912 workers, are a popular source of holiday gifts. Their sales: $109 billion, of which 24 percent were attributable to e-commerce. California led the nation in these establishments and their employees, with 1,746 and 30,291, respectively.
If you’re not sure where to do your shopping, choices of retail establishments in 2001 abound: 151,668 clothing and clothing accessories stores; 10,374 department stores; 10,783 hobby, toy and game shops; 33,678 gift, novelty and souvenir shops; 22,468 sporting goods stores; 29,780 jewelry stores; and 11,559 book stores.
46,438
Number of malls and shopping centers dotting the U.S. landscape in 2002, a total that has increased by almost 10,000 since 1990. (Source: soon-to-be-released Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003.)
Winter Wonderland
7.4 million
Number of Americans who say they Alpine-ski more than once a year. Other popular winter sports are: ice- or figure-skating (6.7 million participants); cross country-skiing (2.3 million); ice hockey (1.9 million); and snowboarding (4.3 million). (Source: soon-to-be-released Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003.)
More than 2 feet
Average depth of the snowfall each December in Valdez, Alaska; Mount Washington, N.H.; Blue Canyon, Calif.; Yakutat, Alaska; Sault Sainte Marie, Mich.; Marquette, Mich.; Syracuse, N.Y.; and Muskegon, Mich., all good places to practice winter sports during the holidays. (Source: soon-to-be-released Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003.)
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The Demographics of Christmas
By Peter J. Donaldson
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
No story in the Western canon is more familiar than Luke\'s account of the first Christmas, which begins, \"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world,\" and ends with what millions regard as the most promising words ever written: \"She gave birth to her firstborn, a son.\" As we remember the impact that one birth had, we should not forget the promise -- and perils -- facing the children who will be born this Christmas Day.
Global census takers concluding work on that first Christmas morning would have counted about 250 million people. Jesus was one of 41,000 children born that day. At least half of those babies died within their first year. Those who survived could expect to live to age 35 or so. The most common causes of death were infections and accidents, the impact of which was often made worse by malnutrition and anemia.
World population has now reached 6.3 billion. The Population Reference Bureau estimates that 372,037 children will be born this Christmas Day. Ninety percent of those children will be born in less-developed countries; a third will be born in India and China alone. The typical newborn will live to age 67. But this average masks extraordinary national and regional diversity in life expectancy.
Despite enormous progress, the ills that stalked the world when Jesus was born have not been eradicated, and new threats have appeared. Although some developing countries have become more prosperous and better able to protect their children, children born in most poor countries, especially those born into poor families, will die at astronomical rates compared with children born in the United States and other developed countries.
Consider the case in any of the poor countries in the news recently. Newborns in Afghanistan are 20 times more likely to die within a year than are infants in the United States. The infant mortality rate in Afghanistan is 154 per 1,000 births; in the United States it is 7 per 1,000 births. Infant mortality in Pakistan is 10 times higher than it is in the United States. In Iraq, infant mortality is 15 times higher than in this country.
For many children born this Christmas in poor countries, conditions are sadly close to what they were 2,000 years ago. Only 10 percent of the children born in Ethiopia will be delivered by a skilled birth attendant. Only about half the children in sub-Saharan Africa will be properly immunized and just a few more will attend school. Forty percent or more of the children in Bangladesh, India and Nepal will be malnourished. More than 2 million African children will live with HIV-AIDS.
All of us will have to live with the consequences of how the children born this Christmas are raised. But few of us pay attention to children outside our own families. We have no idea how many are born each year or what their prospects are. (Over the next 12 months, 136 million babies will be born, 123 million of them in developing countries.) Our ignorance is remarkable, given that Caesar Augustus was collecting data on the topic more than 2,000 years ago.
A single birth is most often a joy. Demographic data on births and deaths are considered boring. But the statistics count. The fundamentals of population size, growth, composition and distribution are as important characteristics of our world as are the details of the human genome. And like the human genome, this knowledge is only as useful as we make it. Christmas is a good time to think about these numbers and to consider what we wish for the 372,037 children to be born that day.
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[b]Want to make a difference for just one child this Christmas? Donate a new, unwrapped toy to your local Christmas Toy Drive.[/b]
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[url=\"http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features/001582.html\"]US Statistics Source[/url]
[url=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A23105-2003Dec22¬Found=true\"]Demographics of Christmas source[/url]
