Date of the probable first flight of Santa's sleigh, a versatile, all weather, multi-purpose, vertical short-takeoff-and-landing vehicle capable of traveling vast distances without refueling and deployed, as far as we know, only on Christmas Eve (and briefly for a test flight about a month before Christmas), according to NORAD: Dec. 24, 343 A.D.

Length of the sleigh, built by Kringle and Elves Inc. and home-based at the North Pole: 75 cc (candy canes)/150 lps (lollipops)

Weight at takeoff: 75,000 gd (gumdrops)

Propulsion: Nine (9) rp (reindeer power)

Armament: Antlers (purely defensive)

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

Max speed: Faster than starlight

Source: NORAD.

Year that Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, placed a Christmas tree in the White House for the first time, according to PolitiFact.com and the National Christmas Tree Association: 1856

Year that President Calvin Coolidge started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the White House lawn: 1923

Year that the National Christmas Tree was not lit until Dec. 22 because of a national 30-day period of mourning following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy: 1963

Source: National Christmas Tree Association.

Date of the first Christmas celebration, 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, originally observed in England: 1834

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

Source: DMR Stats and fun facts pages.

Year that tinsel was invented in Germany and was originally spun from real silver, making it far from the decoration it is now, according to Surprising Christmas Facts from CDS Global Inc.: 1610

Source: CDS Global.

Percentage of parents who blame the internet for their children no longer believing in Santa, according to a survey by Wriggly Toes: 16.5

Percentage who say Google searches are responsible for their kids discovering the truth: 33

Percentage of kids who have watched as their parents made an online gift purchase: 25

Source: Wriggly Toes.

Using salary information from comparable jobs from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, estimated percentage annual salary raise for the North Pole's most famous and beloved resident in 2022, 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 that Santa, with "a magically tireless work ethic," earned this year (up from $159,622): $162,555

Source: insure.com.

Percentage of adults who say they expect to feel more stressed this upcoming holiday season compared to last, an increase of 9 percentage points since 2021, according to a poll from the American Psychiatric Association (APA): 31

Ranks of affording holiday gifts, meals, and finding and securing holiday gifts on the list of potential drivers of stress: 1, 2, 3

Source: American Psychiatric Assocation.

Estimated number of children under age 18 in the world, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF): 2.375 billion

If we assume that each household has, on average, 2.5 children, number of stops Santa would have to make on Christmas Eve, traveling 221 million miles: 950 million

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

Utilizing theoretical "relativity clouds" that would allow Santa to stretch time like a rubber band and give him months to deliver gifts, amount of time that would pass for the rest of us, according to Larry Silverberg, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University: a few minutes

Source: UNICEF and Larry Silverberg.

Number of consumers who plan to shop in-store and online on "Super Saturday" -- the last Saturday before Christmas Eve and Christmas -- this year on Dec. 17, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics: 158 million

Percentage of their holiday shopping that is completed as of early December: 53

Percentage who say their holiday plans include purchasing after Dec. 25: 70

Source: NRF.

Idle Thought

"You cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Percentage of millennials (ages 26 to 41) who say their annual family holiday gatherings are drama-free, according to a survey by JustAnswer: 18

Percentage of baby boomers who say their annual family holiday gatherings are drama-free: 39

Percentage of senior citizens who say their annual family holiday gatherings are drama-free: 58

Source: JustAnswer.

Percentage of adults who say their at-home children believe in Santa Claus, according to a 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's Social and Demographic Trends.

Marriage rate among current young adults between the ages of 18 and 32, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 26

Marriage rate among young adults in 1997: 36

Marriage rate among young adults in 1980: 48

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of Americans who expect to travel for Christmas this year, according to a survey by the American Hotel and Lodging Association: 31

Percentage of people traveling over Christmas who plan to stay in a hotel during their trip: 28

Source: American Hotel and Lodging Association.

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

Percentage who say they don't get enough credit for all the work that goes into the holidays: 70

Source: Zulily.

Percentage of business leaders in the technology industry who say they are already seeing signs of a recession in their businesses today, but add that they also see opportunities for their organizations, according to an Ernst and Young LLP poll: 74

Percentage of business leaders who say they plan to activate their growth plans within the next two years or sooner: 50

Percentage who say they are investing in new talent to remain competitive amid the threat of a recession: 90

Source: Ernst and Young LLP.

Percentage of people with trouble sleeping who report that their insomnia is an added relationship stressor, according to data from the Alliance for Sleep: 53

Percentage of people with trouble sleeping who report that their insomnia causes their partner to "pick up the slack" for the household: 41

Percentage who have stated they've slept in separate bed or room from their significant other: 31

Source: The Alliance for Sleep/Idorsia Pharmaceuticals U.S. Inc.

Percentage of American donors with a charitable giving budget who say rising inflation had no impact on their giving or caused them to increase their giving over the past 12 months, according to a survey on behalf of Vanguard Charitable: 60

Percentage who reported increasing their giving: 24

Approximate number of times more that American donors who included charitable giving in their annual budget gave than those who did not budget for giving over the past 12 months ($2,268 vs. $626): 4

Percentage of Americans who donated to charity in past 12 months: 74

Source: Vanguard Charitable.

On average, percentage of internet users across 20 countries who said they trust the internet (down 11 points since a similar survey was conducted in 2019), according to findings of an Ipsos survey released by The New Institute in Hamburg, Germany: 63

In Japan, the singular exception, percentage-point increase in trust: 7

Among respondents, ranks of the protection of user privacy (65%) and the protection of users' personal data (65%) on the list of the most effective policies to improve trust in the internet: 1 (tie)

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Ranks of Amazon, Fandango, Walmart, Sonic and Target on the list of the top gift cards for this year's holiday shopping season, according to a WalletHub survey: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: WalletHub.

Idle Thought

"Vocations which we wanted to pursue, but didn't, bleed, like colors, on the whole of our existence." -- Honore de Balzac, novelist (1799-1850)

Number of years that PNC Bank has calculated the cost, or "Christmas Price Index," of "true love's" gifts based on the holiday song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," according to PNC: 39

Based on the cost of the gifts in the song, percentage growth in the total price for 2022, the third-highest year-over-year increase in history of PNC's holiday calculation: 10.5

Overall cost to buy all 12 gifts in the song in 2022, a record: $45,523.27

Percentage of gifts that involve birds in the Christmas Price Index, with an overall increase in bird and feed prices a significant factor in this year's cost: 50

Approximate percentage jump in the prices for the turtle doves ($600), French hens ($318.75) and geese ($720) in 2022: 9

Source: PNC Financial Services Group.

Percentage of Americans in 2020 who didn't pay off holiday bills before the next holiday season, according to research by Consolidated Credit: 30

Number of payments it would take a person making the minimum payment on $1,381 in holiday credit card debt to pay off the debt: 87

Length of time this would take: 7 years, 3 months

Source: Consolidated Credit.

Percentage of all money made through ransomware attacks that went to Russian hackers, according to The Conference Board: 74

Ranks of the government (16%), health care (11%) and manufacturing/industry (10%) as the three most frequently attacked sectors: 1, 2, 3

Source: The Conference Board.

Estimated number of people who watch World Cup soccer, according to research by LELO: 3 billion

Percentage of these people who find watching football more exciting than having sex: 20

Percentage who would have sex even though football is on TV: 72

Percentage who would position themselves so that they can see the TV while having sex: 8

Source: LELO.

Percentage of Americans who worked from home in October 2022, according to a survey by Slickdeals: 29.1

Percentage who worked from home during the same period last year: 29.5

Source: Slickdeals.

Percentage of U.S. adults who reveal that they have been targeted by a scam while shopping online, according to a study from Norton conducted by the Harris Poll: 25

Percentage of all shoppers who report that they have fallen victim to a scam during the holiday shopping season: 40

Source: Norton by Symantec.

Percentage who said they would consider a store financing or payment plan to cover the costs of gifts, according to an Oracle Retail consumer research study: 71

Percentage of people who noted that cost will be the main factor in moving them from a browser to a buyer: 47

Source: Oracle CX.

Percentage of Americans who plan to do their holiday grocery shopping early, according to NCSolutions: 25

Percentage who say they enjoy watching holiday advertising and will turn to culinary websites for cooking inspiration: 47

Percentage who say they will turn to social media: 39

Percentage who will turn to how-to videos: 35

Source: NCSolutions.

Percentage of firms surveyed by Randstad that could be considered highly responsive to the rapidly changing business landscape: 15

Number of times more likely that responsive enterprises are to respond to customer expectations than nonresponsive enterprises: 3

Number of times more adept they are at accelerating changes to meet market demands: 6

Source: Randstad.

Percentage of people between the ages of 50 and 80 who said it was very or somewhat important to live in their homes as long as possible as they age, according to a University of Michigan poll: 88

Percentage who have put consideration into how their homes should be modified to accommodate their changing needs: 15

Source: University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.

Idle Thought

"The notion of making money by popular work, and then retiring to do good work, is the most familiar of all the devil's traps for artists." -- Logan Pearsall Smith, essayist (1865-1946)