Friday, December 12, 2003
Ho, ho, ho - did you know, know, know?
Those wonderful folks at the US Census Bureau must have a mite too much time on their hands. They have compiled a whole raft of Christmas related statistics, which should provide wonderful fodder for trivia sessions around the Christmas dinner table.
For instance:
Christmas Trees, Ornaments & Gifts
$466 million : The amount the nation’s Christmas tree farmers received from tree sales in 2002.
$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.
Holiday Names
1 : The number of places around the country named “Christmas.� That unincorporated town is Christmas, Florida, 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.�
Take it from there, Santa!!
Those wonderful folks at the US Census Bureau must have a mite too much time on their hands. They have compiled a whole raft of Christmas related statistics, which should provide wonderful fodder for trivia sessions around the Christmas dinner table.
For instance:
Christmas Trees, Ornaments & Gifts
$466 million : The amount the nation’s Christmas tree farmers received from tree sales in 2002.
$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.
Holiday Names
1 : The number of places around the country named “Christmas.� That unincorporated town is Christmas, Florida, 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.�
Take it from there, Santa!!
