By the Numbers

It’s that time of year when we settle in with friends and family and gratitude. Here is a sketch of giving and holiday celebrations, by the numbers.
 

23

Percentage by which men are more likely to give gift certificates during the holiday season than are women

40

Percentage of the world’s billionaires who live in the United States

1.6

Millions of registered nonprofits in the United States

27

Percentage of Americans who volunteer

218

Amount given to charity by individuals in 2011, in billions of dollars

284

Worth, in billions, of volunteer labor in 2010

1,188

Average amount, in dollars, given in America per tax return

595

Average amount, in dollars, given annually per employee by Fortune 100 Companies in corporate philanthropy activities

40

Billions of dollars spent annually on Christmas gifts

24

Percentage of annual donations a person gives between Thanksgiving and Christmas

8

Number of meals a food bank can provide for just a $1 donation

142

Average donation amount, in dollars, for charities in the month of December

3,325

Number of homeless shelters in America

93

Percentage of Americans who exchange Christmas gifts

30

Days it takes for the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas to distribute the entirety of its warehouse capacity

60

Thousands of square feet in the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas warehouse

12

Number of fish dishes served in a traditional Sicilian Christmas Eve meal

4

Century in which the date December 25 was first noted in the church calendar in Rome as the birthday
of Christ

90

Number of years that there has been a National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Washington, D.C. (on Dec. 6 this year)

28

Number, in millions, of mixed-religion households in America in 2001

13

Percentage of interfaith marriages in the United States before 1970

50

Percentage of American Jews with interfaith marriages since 1991

4.3

Number, in millions, of American Jews who attend Passover seders and light Channukah candles

1804

Year the first image of the now-familiar Santa Claus
was distributed

1890

Year the Salvation Army began dressing men as Santa Claus to solicit donations

55

Calories in a 6-inch candy cane

166

The year, B.C., when the first menorah was lit