On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree.
You probably already know the lyrics to “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. What you may not know is that people have calculated the financial cost of giving all of these items (the partridge in a pear tree, two turtle doves, three French hens, etc.) to your true love in the appointed manner and dates. There is even a Wikipedia article about this cost, and a recent news article also revealed the amount to be almost USD 28,000 in 2014.
Christmas is certainly an extremely commercial date and time, and this is verified by The Commerce of Christmas” infographic. Or, dare we say “Christmas”? Up until a few decades ago, Christmas was primarily a religious holiday which was celebrated by the sharing of presents. Now, it seems more to be the polar opposite, and seems to be a commercial holiday with a brief appearance of religion. Or dare we say “religion”? Many municipalities in the United States virtually forbid the reference to Christmas or religion in many traditional, religious Christmas events. For example, “Christmas carols” are not “Christmas carols but “holiday songs”, and “nativity scenes” are not “nativity scenes” but “holiday scenes”.
Christmas is certainly an extremely commercial date and time, and this is evident in many places throughout the world. In the Philippines–an overwhelmingly Catholic nation–signs for Christmas (and its attendant shopping) appear in malls and shopping centres even before Halloween appears.
Likes: A really interesting way to look at the economics of Christmas.
Dislikes: Santa is not real?!!!!!! Boo hoo hoo!
Tis the season to be spendy! Find out what the typical shopper spends, where they spend it and on what items.
Commerce Of Christmas infographic Brought To You By Outright.com