Christmas - Economic & Social:

Economics of Christmas

Christmas is typically the largest annual economic stimulus for the economies of celebrating Christian nations. Sales increase dramatically in almost all retail areas, as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies for parties and for visiting guests. Shops introduce new products that are sold at premium prices, as customers take advantage of the many marketing opportunities. In the United States, the Christmas shopping season has lengthened such that it now begins the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday in the retail industry. For some shops and other businesses, Christmas Day is the only day in the year that they are closed.

The economic aspects of Christmas continue after the holiday, with Christmas sales and New Year's sales, when stores sell off goods that were not sold before Christmas. They also use this opportunity to clear out goods, or to take advantage of the many shoppers who go to these events, to increase their sales.

In North America, the holiday movie season is generally a repository for film studios' more prestigious pictures (positioning themselves for Oscar consideration), and is the second-most lucrative season after summer. That said, movies with Christmas as a topic, generally open no later than Thanksgiving, because once the day is past, no one wants to see a Christmas movie anymore.

Social impact of Christmas

Because of the focus on celebration, friends, and family, people who are without these, or who have recently suffered losses, are more likely to suffer from depression during the holidays. This increases the pressure on counseling services during the period.

Suicides and murders spike during the holiday season; and because of holiday celebrations involving alcohol, drunk driving may also increase.

Non-Christians in predominantly Christian-secular nations are left without anything to do on the days near Christmas, as stores close and friends depart for vacations. The cliché thing to do for these people is "movies and Chinese food"; movie theaters remaining open to bring in holiday box office dollars and Chinese (and presumably Buddhist, et al.) establishments being less likely to close for the big day.