As the most widely observed cultural holiday in the world, Christmas produces many things—joy, happiness, gratitude, reverence. And numbers. Lots of peculiar, often large, numbers. Here are a few to contemplate this season:

$75 – Average amount U.S. consumers spent on real Christmas trees in 2017.

$107 – Average amount U.S. consumers spent on fake Christmas trees in 2017.

27,400,000 – Number of real Christmas trees sold in the U.S. in 2017.

21,100,000 – Number of fake Christmas trees sold in the U.S. in 2017.

7 – Average growing time in years for a Christmas tree.

350 million – Number of Christmas trees currently growing on Christmas tree farms.

329.2 million – Current population of the United States.

$27.21 — The energy costs of lighting a six-foot Christmas tree, lit 12 hours a day for 40 days, decorated with various light types.

$1,500,000,000 – Estimated value of U.S. imports of Christmas tree ornaments from China between January and September 2016.

$22,700,000,000 – Estimated retail sales by the nation’s department stores (including leased departments) in December 2016. This represents a decrease of $1 billion in retail sales from December of the previous year.

42.7 percent — Estimated percentage of charitable giving that occurs between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

$794 – Average amount people in the U.S. estimated they’ll spend on Christmas presents in 2018.

108,000,000 — Average number of homes Santa Claus has to visit on December 25 (assuming there is at least one “nice” child in each).

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This article has been republished with permission from Acton Institute.

[Image Credit: U.S. Air Force photo/Nan Wylie]