Figuratively Speaking

With resolution season fast approaching, percentage of Americans who say their New Year's resolutions will be influenced by COVID-19, according to a WalletHub survey: almost 60

Percentage who think New Year's resolutions will be harder to keep in 2021 than 2020: 62

Source: WalletHub.

Year the concept of "New Year's" was first celebrated, according to New Years Facts, History and Stats by Expanded Ramblings: 2000 B.C., in Mesopotamia

Year that Jan. 1was first recognized as the start of the new year: 1522, in Venice

Year that "Auld Lang Syne" was written: 1788

Year that the first New Year's Day college football game was played, featuring Michigan vs. Stanford: 1902

Year that the first ball dropped in Times Square: 1907

Source: Expanded Ramblings.

On a scale of 1 to 10, percentage of Americans who rated their personal 2020 as only a 1 or a 2, according to data from the Ipsos Coronavirus Consumer Tracker: 15

When asked to step back and rate 2020 for the entire nation, the average rating given: 3.4

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

When asked about the perception of those who wear ugly holiday sweaters, percentage who believe that the garment indicates a strong sense of humor, according to a survey by Dating.com: 52

Percentage who say a sense of humor is the most attractive quality in a partner: 70

Percentage of those who typically would not make the first move who claim they would be more willing to initiate conversation if a potential partner was wearing an ugly holiday sweater: 42

Percentage who believe non-participation in an ugly sweater-themed gathering (virtual or in person) reveals close-minded characteristics: 78

Source: Dating.com Group.

Estimated percentage of Americans who had to alter or cancel holiday travel plans due to COVID-19, according to a survey by Hotwire: 80

Percentage who dreaded breaking the news to loved ones and who procrastinated picking up the phone as long as possible: 28

Source: Hotwire.

For New Year's Eve in Times Square 2021, diameter of the New Year's Eve Ball design, a geodesic sphere, according to the Times Square official website: 12 feet

Weight of the ball: 11,875 pounds

Number of Waterford Crystal triangles that cover the ball, varying in size and ranging in length from 4 inches to 5 inches per side: 2,688

Number of Waterford Crystal triangles that will introduce the new Gift of Happiness design represented by a sunburst of bright cuts radiating outward like a beautiful sunny day: 192

Source: Times Square Visitors Center

Percentage of American adults (representing approximately 141 million people) who think that following through on their New Year's resolutions is well within the cards, according to a Finder survey: 55

Percentage of Americans adults who are rolling into 2021 without personal goals on the calendar: 26

Source: Finder.com.

In the midst of a year that includes a global pandemic, percentage of Americans who say that they definitely or probably will give more to nonprofits in 2020 than they did in 2019, according to research by Classy: 39

Percentage who said they had donated or planned to donate to social justice causes in 2020, with a majority of respondents noting that they are giving to these causes for the first time: 42

Source: Classy.

Percentage of Americans who are more concerned about their retirement today compared to a year ago, according to the Nov. 20 SimplyWise Index: 59 

Percentage of Social Security beneficiaries who now worry about outliving their savings in retirement: 43

Percentage of people in their 50s who now plan to work full time in retirement (up from 8% in May): 19

Source: SimplyWise.

Percentage of optimistic Americans -- those who believe the country's overall health situation will improve -- who plan to celebrate the winter holidays this year, according to a survey commissioned by NCSolutions: 94

Percentage of those optimistic Americans who say they plan to spend more this year than they did last year on food and in-home meals/celebrations, compared to 14% of those who feel the situation will stay the same and 17% who feel it will decline: 26

Source: NCSolutions

Idle Thought

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." -- Edith Wharton, novelist

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Using salary information of comparable jobs from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, calculated percentage raise in Santa's salary for 2020, according to insure.com: 2

For all his tasks -- from Rudolph's nose maintenance, running the workshop, reading letters, checking his list (twice) to taste-testing each delicious cookie (even the oatmeal raisin ones) -- amount Santa earned this year: $157,300

Source: insure.com

Percentage of people responding to a survey by Dating.com who believe that ugly holiday sweaters serve as an effective conversation starter: 96

When asked about the perception of those who wear ugly holiday sweaters, percentage who believe that the garment indicates a strong sense of humor: 52

Percentage who believe that the garment indicates an openness to meeting new people: 44

Source: Dating.com Group.

Percentage of Americans who said they had less disposable income available in 2020 than in 2019 as a result of COVID-19, according to a survey by L.E.K. Consulting and Civis Analytics: 44

Percentage who said they were concerned about their finances and future income security: 43

Percentage who said they were giving gifts to fewer people this year -- and radically change the way they shop: 48

Source: L.E.K. Consulting and Civis Analytics.

According to data provided by NORAD, which has confirmed it will again track jolly old St. Nicholas' Christmas Eve flight for 2020, designer and builder of Santa's sleigh: K. Kringle and Elves Inc.

Probable first flight: Dec. 24, 343 A.D.

Home base: North Pole

Length: 75 cc (candy canes) / 150 lp (lollipops)

Width: 40 cc / 80 lp

Height: 55 cc / 110 lp

Emissions: Classified

Climbing speed: One "T" (twinkle of an eye)

Source: NORAD.

Estimated number of children under age 18 in the world, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF): 2.106 billion

If we assume that each household has in average 2.5 children, number of stops Santa would have to make on Christmas Eve, traveling 221 million miles: 842 million

Given the different time zones, number of hours that Santa has to deliver gifts, with his average speed approximately 650 miles per second: 36

Source: UNICEF and Larry Silverberg

Date that two astronauts aboard Gemini 6 sent an odd report to Mission Control that they saw an "unidentified flying object" about to enter Earth's atmosphere, traveling in the polar orbit from north to south, with "a command module and eight smaller modules in front," according to an article by Christopher Klein: Dec. 16, 1965

Source: Christopher Klein.

Date of the first Christmas, according to research by DMR Stats and Fun Facts Pages: Dec. 25, 336 in Rome

Year the first Christmas card was sent: 1611

Years that Christmas was banned in England by the Puritans: 1647 to 1660

First time Christmas was a bank holiday: 1834 in England

Year Christmas became a U.S. federal holiday: 1870

Source: DMR Stats and Fun Facts Pages.

Amount of money that PayPal processed globally this Giving Tuesday, the largest amount raised on the platform for the global day of giving since its inception in 2012, according to PayPal Holdings Inc.: $185 million

Percentage increase in donations processed over 2019: 40

Number of PayPal customers who made donations, across 198 markets with over 2 million donations made in total: 1.75 million plus

Source: PayPal Holdings Inc.

During the winter holidays, including Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year's Eve, percentage of Americans who say they plan to celebrate at home, according to a survey commissioned by NCSolutions: 79

Percentage who plan to celebrate at home in smaller groups: 54

Looking ahead to 2021, percentage of consumers who indicated optimism that the nation's health and relevant living conditions will improve: 45

Percentage who think it will stay the same: 32

Source: NCSolutions.

Idle Thought

"Life becomes easier and more beautiful when we can see the good in other people." -- Roy T. Bennett

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Percentage of U.S. and U.K. adults between the ages of 18 and 25 who think a modernized Santa should swap his heavy boots for sneakers, according to a survey from GraphicSpring: 25

Percentage who think he should ditch the sleigh for a flying car: 22

Percentage who would change Santa's delivery method, opting for his use of the Amazon Prime delivery service: 23

Source: GraphicSpring.

Year 2020 price tag for purchasing all presents from the beloved song "The 12 Days of Christmas," according to PNC Bank: $16,168.10

Decrease from last year's cost, with a third of the items literally not available for purchase this year because of COVID-19: $22,825.45 (58.5%)

If True Love is looking for a little sparkle this holiday season, amount that will have to be paid for five golden rings ($120 more for this index item than in 2019): $945.00

Largest price increase in this year's index, represented by the total cost of birds of a feather flocking together (a 36.4% increase from 2019): $328.50

Source: PNC Financial Services Group.

When asked what they would like most from their employer this holiday season, percentage of respondents who said a bonus, according to research from iSolved: 37

Percentage who said job security: 35

Percentage who said a merit raise: 21

Source: iSolved.

Percentage of American parents who think Mrs. Claus deserves more credit than she gets throughout the holiday season, according to a survey by Zulily: 68

Percentage who feel Mrs. Claus is the real brains behind the North Pole gift-giving operation: 57

Percentage of American moms who say their role in the family is primarily that of the "giver" when it comes to this magical time of the year: 88

Source: Zulily.

Ranks of phone, doll, Roblox, Lego and tablet on the girls' top 5 wish list, according to stats based on real wish lists entered into the RoosterMoney app by kids themselves over the last few months: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Lego, Fortnite, computer, Nintendo Switch and Pokemon on the boys' top 5 wish list: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: RoosterMoney.

Percentage of adults who say their at-home children believe in Santa Claus, according to a new Pew Research Center poll: 19

Percentage of children who plan to "pretend" that St. Nick will visit their house on Christmas Eve: 70

Percentage of parents who said that Santa "visited" their homes with presents as kids years ago: 72

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Percentage of dog owners (and 71% of cat owners) who get special gifts or treats for their pets during the Christmas/winter holiday season, according to research by Packaged Facts: 77

Percentage of dog owners who say, "I consider my pets to be part of the family": 95

Percentage of cat owners who agree: 94

Source: Packaged Facts.

Each year, average number of fires that are sparked by dried-out Christmas trees, resulting in $9 million in property damage, according to Consumer Product Safety Commission reports released this year: 100

Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Percentage of shoppers who plan on using one credit card while shopping this holiday season, according to findings of Generali Global Assistance in conjunction with Mastercard: 62

Percentage of consumers who plan to do their holiday shopping online, up 21% from last year: 86

Percentage who indicated they will also shop for the holidays in a brick-and-mortar store, down 15% from last year: 48

Source: Generali Global Assistance.

Percentage of companies that implemented salary/wage cuts during the pandemic and had fully reversed this action by September, according to research by the Conference Board: 25

Percentage of companies whose employees either already returned or are currently planning to return to the workplace by March 2021 -- dependent on the severity of the second COVID-19 surge: 60

Percentage who are awaiting a vaccine or noting other determining factors, such as trends in COVID-19 cases in the geographic area: 25

Source: The Conference Board.

Idle Thought

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer." -- Zora Neale Hurston, folklorist and writer

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)