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Holiday Season Facts by Census Bureau Says 1.9
Billion Cards Sent
Dec. 24, 2005 - The holiday season, with its many
traditions, family gatherings and general good feelings, arrives today
as millions of Americans celebrate Christmas Eve. Tomorrow is Christmas
and the beginning of Hanukah. To commemorate this time of year, the U.S.
Census Bureau presents the following holiday-related facts and figures
from its data collection.
Season's Greetings
1.9 billion
-- Number of Christmas cards sent to friends and loved ones every year,
making Christmas the largest card-sending occasion in the United States.
The second largest is Valentine's Day, with approximately 192 million
cards being given. (Source: Hallmark research)
Christmas Trees
20.8 million
-- Number of Christmas trees cut around the country in 2002. These trees
were located on 21,904 farms spread out across 447,000 acres. Source:
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service at
http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census02/volume1/us/st99_1_039_039.pdf
6.5 million
-- Number of Christmas trees cut in Oregon in 2002, making the Beaver
State the nation's leader. (There were 2.6 million trees cut in
Clackamas County, Ore., alone.) Also topping the one-million mark among
states were Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington and
Wisconsin.
Pennsylvania led the nation in the number of
Christmas tree farms, with 2,164; Oregon was tops in acres devoted to
Christmas tree production, with 67,800. Source: USDA National
Agricultural Statistics Service at
http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census02/volume1/us/st99_2_035_036.pdf
and
http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census02/volume1/or/st41_2_035_035.pdf
$506 million
-- The amount of money the nation's Christmas tree farmers received from
tree sales in 2004. Oregon was the top state in tree sales ($143
million), followed by North Carolina, Washington and Michigan. Source:
USDA Economic Research Service at
http://www.ers.usda.gov/
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Dec. 21, 2005 - “Restricted Diet” – even the words
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$561 million
-- The value of U.S. imports of Christmas tree ornaments from China
between January and August 2005. 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 ($69 million
worth) during the same period.
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/
$80.2 million
-- Value of shipments by U.S. manufacturers of article trees, including
Christmas trees, in 2002.
http://www.census.gov/prod/ec02/ec0231i339999t.pdf
Holiday Names
1,162
-- Population of Christmas, Fla., an unincorporated town. Source:
American FactFinder
Other places whose names are associated with the
holiday season include North Pole, Alaska (population 1,659 in 2004);
Santa Claus, Ind. (2,201); Santa Claus, Ga. (238); Noel, Mo. (1,476);
and -- if you know about reindeer -- the village of Rudolph, Wis. (418).
On top of that there is Snowflake, Ariz. (4,836); Dasher, Ga. (822); and
a dozen places named Holly, including Holly Springs, Miss., and Mount
Holly, N.C. Source: American FactFinder
$291,085
-- The value of U.S. imports between January and August 2005 from
Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Pacific Ocean, south of
Hawaii. Perhaps some of these were "Christmas gifts from Christmas
Island."
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/
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 available. Note that the estimates that follow have not been
adjusted to account for seasonal or pricing variations.
$31.9 billion
-- Retail sales by the nation's department stores (including leased
departments) in December 2004. This represented a 54 percent jump from
the previous month (when retail sales, many Christmas-related,
registered $20.8 billion). No other month-to-month increase in
department store sales last year was as large.
Other U.S. retailers with sizable jumps in sales
between November and December 2004 were clothing stores (48 percent);
jewelry stores (170 percent); book stores (100 percent); sporting goods
stores (63 percent); and radio, TV and other electronics stores (58
percent).
http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html
15 percent
-- The proportion of total 2004 sales for department
stores (including leased departments) that took place in December. For
jewelry stores, the percentage was 24 percent.
http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html
24 percent
-- The proportion of growth in inventories by our
nation's department stores (excluding leased departments) between the
end of August and the end of November 2004. Thanks to the holiday
crowds, inventories plummeted by 23 percent in the year's final month.
http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html
1.8 million
-- The number of people employed at department stores in December 2004.
Retail employment typically swells during the holiday season, last year
rising by 50,900 from November and 195,500 from October.
http://www.bls.gov
E-Shopping
$21.5 billion
-- The value of total retail e-commerce sales for the fourth quarter of
2004. This amount, represented 2.3 percent of total retail sales over
the period and exceeded e-commerce sales for all other quarters of the
year. E-commerce sales were up 24 percent from the fourth quarter of
2003.
http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/ecomm.html
32 percent
-- The percentage of adults who shopped online in 2003,
up from 2 percent in 1997. No doubt many of these customers were doing
some holiday shopping at some point during the year.
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/miscellaneous/005863.html
Where are Christmas
Gifts Made?
124
-- Number of establishments around the country that primarily
manufactured dolls and stuffed toys in 2003; they employed 2,123 people.
California led the nation with 19 such locations, and Vermont employed
the most, 670.
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/county_business_patterns/005507.html
733
-- The number of locations that primarily produced games, toys and
children's vehicles in 2003; they employed 16,996 workers. California
led the nation with 118 establishments and in the number of people they
employed, 2,581.
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/county_business_patterns/005507.html
$3.9 billion
-- Total value of shipments for dolls, toys and games by manufacturers
in 2003.
http://www.census.gov/mcd/asm-as1.html
$656 million
-- The value of U.S. imports of stuffed toys (excluding dolls) from
China between January and August 2005. China was the leading country of
origin for stuffed toys coming into this country, as well as for a
number of other popular holiday gifts that were imported. These include
electric trains ($71 million); puzzles ($48 million); roller skates ($44
million); sports footwear ($204 million); golf equipment ($43 million);
and basketballs ($26 million). Canada was the leading supplier of ice
skates ($7 million).
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/
Where Holiday Gifts are
Purchased
16,049
-- The number of electronic shopping and mail-order houses in business
in 2003. These businesses, which employed 264,868 workers, are a popular
source of holiday gifts. Their sales: $131 billion, of which 31 percent
were attributable to e-commerce. California led the nation in the number
of these establishments and their employees, with 2,493 and 32,665,
respectively.
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/county_business_patterns/005507.html
and
http://www.census.gov/eos/www/papers/2003/2003finaltables.pdf
If you're not sure where to do your shopping,
choices of retail establishments abound: In 2003, there were 148,012
clothing and clothing accessories stores; 9,366 department stores;
10,274 hobby, toy and game shops; 34,287 gift, novelty and souvenir
shops; 22,410 sporting goods stores; 28,527 jewelry stores; and 11,036
book stores.
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/county_business_patterns/005507.html
47,835
-- The number of malls and shopping centers dotting the U.S. landscape
as of 2004, a total that had increased by approximately 10,000 since
1990. Source: Upcoming 2006 Statistical Abstract
Winter Wonderland
6.8 million
-- The number of Americans who say they downhill-ski more than once a
year. Other popular winter sports are cross-country skiing (1.9
million), ice hockey (1.8 million) and snowboarding (6.3 million).
Source: Upcoming 2006 Statistical Abstract
It's in the Mail ...
20 billion
-- Number of letters, packages and cards delivered by the U.S. Postal
Service between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The busiest mailing day this
year is expected to be today (Dec. 19), with more than twice as many
cards and letters being cancelled as on an average day. Source: U.S.
Postal Service at
http://www.usps.com/communications/news/press/welcome.htm
About 1
million -- Number of packages delivered by the U.S.
Postal Service every day through Christmas Eve. The busiest delivery
day: Dec. 21. (Source: U.S. Postal Service at
http://www.usps.com/communications/news/press/welcome.htm.
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