The Christmas Holiday - Many Holiday Traditions

Christmas is a yearly holiday when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus and many families exchange Christmas gifts. It is celebrated on December 25th.

There are many holiday traditions including Christmas dinner, sending Christmas cards, visiting Santa, baking Christmas cookies and making homemade Christmas candies. Homes are decorated inside and out with colorful lights and holiday decorations. People usually try to spread goodwill, compassion and peace during the Christmas holiday season.

Some countries celebrate on Christmas Eve, other on both Christmas Eve and Christmas day, while other countries celebrate Boxing Day on December 26th. One church, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas on January 6th. Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on January 7th. The date is just a tradition and is not considered to be Jesus’ actual birth date.

The word "Christmas" actually comes from two words: Christ's mass. Many of the seasons decorations lead back to Christ's birth such as Nativity managers, star ornaments and the giving of gifts.

Christmas day during the Middle ages was more of a festival. King William I of England chose Christmas Day to be crowned king in 800.

During the Reformation, Protestants condemned the celebration of Christmas as mere trappings, while Catholics promoted the festival as a religious event.

Colonial America saw the Puritans disapproving of the trappings of the Christmas celebration and it was outlawed in Boston in 1659 to 1681. However Christian residents of Virginia and New York celebrated the holiday.

Charles Dickens' book "A Christmas Carol", published in 1843 did much to revive the holiday that was to instill goodwill and compassion. Washington Irving also wrote short stories about Christmas and the "Twas the Night Before Christmas Poem by Clement Clarke.

There was great controversy in the 20th century over the nature of Christmas (was it a religious holiday or was it a secular holiday). The issue was brought to trial several times to decide because of the view that a federal holiday was a violation of separation of church and state. On December 6th, 1999, the verdict for Ganulin vs. United States declared that "the establishment of Christmas Day as "a legal public holiday does not violate the Establishment Clause because it has a secular purpose." This decision was later upheld on December 19, 2000 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Many christians believe the holiday has become too secular and it is common to hear cries of "getting back to the true meaning of Christmas" around the holidays.

'Tis The Season For Volume

Do you know how many turkeys are eaten during the holiday season? Below are a few interesting facts regarding the volume of turkeys eaten, cards sent, and much more.

Christmas Cards
Do you enjoy receiving cards in the mail? How many do you think you get each season? There are roughly 1.9 billion Christmas cards sent in the United States every year to friends, family members, and acquaintances, making Christmas the #1 card sending occurrence, followed by Valentine's Day.

Packages
The number UPS is expected to deliver this year is over 340 million. The busiest day is expected to reach 20 million deliveries, which translates to 230 packages being delivered every second during that day.

Turkey
There are approximately 60 million turkeys consumed in the United States through the holiday season. Each American eats around 13.7 pounds of turkey every year! You think you are tired of turkey once Christmas is over? This may be why.

Christmas Trees

Next time you are lugging your tree home, remember this little fact. There are 20.8 million Christmas trees cut in the U.S. every year, with Oregon being the largest producer. Tree farmers retail roughly $506 million from the sale of trees. There is $69 million worth of artificial trees imported from China alone. Artificial Christmas trees have outsold real trees every year since 1991.

Christmas Tree Ornaments
China is the largest importer of Christmas ornaments which totals $561 million between January and August. Apparently those little trinkets are purchased year-round to have handy when Christmas time approaches.

Decorating
Most malls and other stores begin decorating for the holiday season on November 1st.

Holiday Shopping
Holiday sales are expected to hit $439.53 billion this year. December accounts for roughly 15% of stores' yearly sales, except for in the case of jewelry stores, which is closer to 24%. However, most Americans only expect to spend an average of $681 each this holiday reason. On Black Friday, approximately $8.01 billion was spent, totaling $16.8 billion for the weekend. Residence of the New England states are expected to spend the most, with the South expected to spend considerably less.

Toys

 Roughly 45% of shoppers this year will be purchasing toys, with Barbie and video games being the most sought after products.









Holiday Music
The most frequently played holiday song is "Jingle Bells", with "White Christmas" running a close second. Bing Crosby's "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" is the #1 best selling Christmas single of all time.