by Tom Standage
That soon changed. Cities expanded at the start of the 19th century to absorb the growing number of factory workers. Vagrancy and urban poverty became more common. Rowdiness at Christmas could turn violent, with bands of drunken men roaming the streets. It’s little surprise that members of the upper classes saw a threat in the festivity. In his study of the holiday, Stephen Nissenbaum, a historian, credits a group of patrician writers and editorialists in America with recasting it as a domestic event. They refashioned European traditions, like Christmas trees from Germany, or Christmas boxes from England in which the wealthy would present cash or leftovers to their servants. St Nicholas, or Santa Claus, whose December name day coincided with the Christmas season, became the holiday’s mascot. Clement Clarke Moore’s poem A Visit from St Nicholas, first published in 1823, helped popularise his image. In it, a jolly Santa descends via reindeer-pulled sleigh to surprise children with presents on Christmas Eve. Newspapers also played their part. “Let all avoid taverns and grog shops for a few days,” advised the New York Herald in 1839. Better to focus, it suggested, on “the domestic hearth, the virtuous wife, the innocent, smiling, merry-hearted children”.
It was a triumph of middle-class values, and a coup for shop-owners. “Christmas is the merchant’s harvest time,” a retail magazine enthused in 1908. “It is up to him to garner in as big a crop of dollars as he can.” Soon this new approach to Christmas would become a target of criticism in its own right, as commercialised and superficial. Nevertheless, it lives on. Merry Christmas.
Contributors
The editor wishes to thank the authors and data journalists who created the explainers and accompanying graphics on which this book is based:
Ryan Avent, Memphis Barker, Ananyo Bhattacharya, Jennifer Brown, Will Brown, Joel Budd, Geoffrey Carr, Slavea Chankova, Amanda Coletta, Tim Cross, Josie Delap, Graham Douglas, Doug Dowson, Matthieu Favas, Glenn Fleishman, James Fransham, Tom Gardner, Hallie Golden, Lane Greene, Melissa Heikkila, Hal Hodson, Charlotte Howard, Miranda Johnson, Tim Judah, Abhishek Kumar, Soumaya Keynes, Jack Lahart, Ana Lankes, Sarah Leo, Rachel Lloyd, David McKelvey, Matt McLean, Adam Meara, Sacha Nauta, John O’Sullivan, John Parker, Lloyd Parker, Ted Plafker, Stanley Pignal, Simon Rabinovitch, Adam Roberts, Jonathan Rosenthal, Rachel Savage, Guy Scriven, Alex Selby-Boothroyd, Jane Shaw, Rachana Shanbogue, Ludwig Siegele, Adam Smith, James Tozer, Henry Tricks, Andrea Valentino, Vendeline von Bredow, Tom Wainwright, Kennett Werner, Eleanor Whitehead, Callum Williams, Sam Winter Levy, Simon Wright, Pip Wroe and Wade Zhou.
For more explainers and charts from The Economist, visit economist.com
Index
A
Africa
child marriage 84
democracy 40
gay and lesbian rights 73, 74
Guinea 32
mobile phones 175–6
see also individual countries
agriculture 121–2
Aguiar, Mark 169
air pollution 143–4
air travel
and drones 187–8
flight delays 38–9
Akitu (festival) 233
alcohol
beer consumption 105–6
consumption in Britain 48, 101–2
craft breweries 97–8
drink-driving 179–80
wine glasses 101–2
Alexa (voice assistant) 225
Algeria
food subsidies 31
gay and lesbian rights 73
All I Want for Christmas Is You (Carey) 243
alphabet 217–18
Alternative for Germany (AfD) 223, 224
Alzheimer’s disease 140
Amazon (company) 225
America see United States
and 227–8
Angola 73, 74
animals
blood transfusions 139–40
dog meat 91–2
gene drives 153–4
size and velocity 163–4
and water pollution 149–50
wolves 161–2
Arctic 147–8
Argentina
gay and lesbian rights 73
lemons 95–6
lithium 17–18
Ariel, Barak 191
Arizona 85
arms trade 19–20
Asia
belt and road initiative 117–18
high-net-worth individuals 53
wheat consumption 109–10
see also individual countries
Assange, Julian 81–3
asteroids 185–6
augmented reality (AR) 181–2
August 239–40
Australia
avocados 89
forests 145
inheritance tax 119
lithium 17, 18
shark attacks 201–2
autonomous vehicles (AVs) 177–8
Autor, David 79
avocados 89–90
B
Babylonians 233
Baltimore 99
Bangladesh 156
bank notes 133–4
Bateman, Tim 48
beer
consumption 105–6
craft breweries 97–8
Beijing
air pollution 143–4
dogs 92
belt and road initiative 117–18
betting 209–10
Bier, Ethan 153
Bils, Mark 169
birds
and aircraft 187
guinea fowl 32–3
birth rates
Europe 81–3
United States 79–80
black money 133–4
Black Power 34, 35
Blade Runner 208
blood transfusions 139–40
board games 199–200
body cameras 191–2
Boko Haram 5, 15–16
Bolivia 17–18
Bollettieri, Nick 197
bookmakers 209–10
Borra, Cristina 75
Bosnia 221–2
brain computers 167–8
Brazil
beer consumption 105, 106
Christmas music 243, 244
end-of-life care 141–2
gay and lesbian rights 73
murder rate 45, 46
shark attacks 202
breweries 97–8
Brexit, and car colours 49–50
brides
bride price 5
diamonds 13–14
Britain
alcohol consumption 101–2
car colours 49–50
Christmas music 244
cigarette sales 23–4
craft breweries 98
crime 47–8
Easter 238
gay population 70–72
housing material 8
inheritance tax 119
Irish immigration 235
life expectancy 125
manufacturing jobs 131
national identity 223–4
new-year resolutions 234
police body cameras 191
sexual harassment 67, 68, 69
sperm donation 61
see also Scotland
Brookings Institution 21
Browning, Martin 75
bubonic plague 157–8
Bush, George W. 119
C
cables, undersea 193–4
California
and Argentine lemons 95, 96
avocados 90
cameras 191–2
Canada
diamonds 13
drones 188
lithium 17
national identity 223–4
capitalism, and birth rates 81–2
Carey, Mariah 243
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 21
cars
colours 49–50
self-driving 177–8
Caruana, Fabiano 206
Charles, Kerwin 169
cheetahs 163, 164
chess 205–6
Chetty,
Raj 113
Chicago 100
children
birth rates 79–80, 81–3
child marriage 84–5
in China 56–7
crime 47–8
and gender pay gap 115–16, 135–6
obesity 93–4
Chile
gay and lesbian rights 73
lithium 17–18
China
air pollution 143–5
arms sales 19–20
avocados 89
beer consumption 105
belt and road initiative 117–18
childhood obesity 93
construction 7
dog meat 91–2
dragon children 56–7
flight delays 38–9
foreign waste 159–60
lithium 17
rice consumption 109–10
Choi, Roy 99
Christian, Cornelius 26
Christianity
Easter 237–8
new year 233–4
Christmas 246–7
music 243–5
cigarettes
affordability 151–2
black market 23–4
cities, murder rates 44–6
Citizen Kane 207
citrus wars 95–6
civil wars 5
Clarke, Arthur C. 183
Coase, Ronald 127, 128
cocaine 44
cochlear implants 167
Cohen, Jake 203
Colen, Liesbeth 106
colleges, US 113–14
Colombia 45
colours, cars 49–50
commodities 123–4
companies 127–8
computers
augmented reality 181–2
brain computers 167–8
emojis 215–16
and languages 225–6
spam e-mail 189–90
Connecticut 85
Connors, Jimmy 197
contracts 127–8
Costa Rica 89
couples
career and family perception gap 77–8
housework 75–6
see also marriage
cows 149–50
craft breweries 97–8
crime
and avocados 89–90
and dog meat 91–2
murder rates 44–6
young Britons 47–8
CRISPR-Cas9 153
Croatia 222
Croato-Serbian 221–2
D
Daily-Diamond, Christopher 9–10
Davis, Mark 216
De Beers 13–14
death 141–2
death taxes 119–20
democracy 40–41
Deng Xiaoping 117
Denmark
career and family perception gap 78
gender pay gap 135–6
sex reassignment 65
Denver 99
Devon 72
diamonds 13–14, 124
digitally remastering 207–8
Discovery Channel 163–4
diseases 157–8
dog meat 91–2
Dorn, David 79
Dr Strangelove 207
dragon children 56–7
drink see alcohol
drink-driving 179–80
driverless cars 177–8
drones
and aircraft 187–8
and sharks 201
drugs
cocaine trafficking 44
young Britons 48
D’Souza, Kiran 187
E
e-mail 189–90
earnings, gender pay gap 115–16, 135–6
Easter 237–8
economy
and birth rates 79–80, 81–2
and car colours 49–50
and witch-hunting 25–6
education
and American rich 113–14
dragon children 56–7
Egal, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim 40–41
Egypt
gay and lesbian rights 73
marriage 5
new-year resolutions 233
El Paso 100
El Salvador 44, 45
emojis 215–16
employment
gender pay gap 115–16, 135–6
and gender perception gap 77–8
job tenure 129–30
in manufacturing 131–2
video games and unemployment 169–70
English language
letter names 217–18
Papua New Guinea 219
environment
air pollution 143–4
Arctic sea ice 147–8
and food packaging 103–4
waste 159–60
water pollution 149–50
Equatorial Guinea 32
Eritrea 40
Ethiopia 40
Europe
craft breweries 97–8
summer holidays 239–40
see also individual countries
Everson, Michael 216
exorcism 36–7
F
Facebook
augmented reality 182
undersea cables 193
FANUC 171, 172
Federer, Roger 197
feminism, and birth rates 81–2
fertility rates see birth rates
festivals
Christmas 246–7
Christmas music 243–5
new-year 233–4
Feuillet, Catherine 108
films 207–8
firms 127–8
5G 173–4
flight delays 38–9
Florida
and Argentine lemons 95
child marriage 85
Foley, William 220
food
avocados and crime 89–90
dog meat 91–2
lemons 95–6
wheat consumption 109–10
wheat genome 107–8
food packaging 103–4
food trucks 99–100
football clubs 211–12
football transfers 203–4
forests 145–6, 162
Fountains of Paradise, The (Clarke) 183
fracking 79–80
France
career and family perception gap 78
Christmas music 244
exorcism 36–7
gender-inclusive language 229–30
job tenure 130
sex reassignment 66
sexual harassment 68–9
witch-hunting 26, 27
wolves 161–2
G
gambling 209–10
games, and unemployment 169–70
Gandhi, Mahatma 155
gang members 34–5
Gantz, Valentino 153
gas 124
gay population 70–72
gay rights, attitudes to 73–4
gender
sex reassignment 65–6
see also men; women
gender equality
and birth rates 81–2
in language 229–30
gender pay gap 115–16, 135–6
gene drives 153–4
Genghis Khan 42
genome, wheat 107–8
ger districts 42–3
Germany
beer consumption 105
job tenure 130
national identity 223–4
sexual harassment 68, 69
vocational training 132
witch-hunting 26, 27
Ghana 73
gig economy 128, 130
glasses, wine glasses 101–2
Goddard, Ceri 72
Google 193
Graduate, The 207
Greece
forests 145
national identity 223–4
sex reassignment 65
smoking ban 152
Gregg, Christine 9–10
grunting 197–8
Guatemala 45
Guinea 32
guinea fo
wl 32–3
guinea pig 32
Guinea-Bissau 32
Guo Peng 91–2
Guyana 32
H
Haiti 5
Hale, Sarah Josepha 242
Hanson, Gordon 79
Hawaii
’Oumuamua 185
porn consumption 63–4
health
child obesity 93–4
life expectancy 125–6
plague 157–8
and sanitation 155
high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) 53
Hiri Motu 219
holidays
Easter 237–8
St Patrick’s Day 235–6
summer holidays 239–40
Thanksgiving 241–2
HoloLens 181–2
homicide 44–6
homosexuality
attitudes to 73–4
UK 70–72
Honduras 44, 45
Hong Kong 56
housework 75–6, 77–8
Hudson, Valerie 5
Hungary 223–4
Hurst, Erik 169
I
ice 147–8
Ikolo, Prince Anthony 199
India
bank notes 133–4
inheritance tax 119
languages 219
rice consumption 109
sand mafia 7
sanitation problems 155–6
Indonesia
polygamy and civil war 5
rice consumption 109–10
inheritance taxes 119–20
interest rates 51–2
interpunct 229–30
Ireland
aitch 218
forests 145
St Patrick’s Day 235–6
same-sex marriage 73
sex reassignment 65
Italy
birth rate 82
end of life care 141–2
forests 145
job tenure 130
life expectancy 126
J
Jacob, Nitya 156
Jamaica 45
Japan 141–2
Jighere, Wellington 199
job tenure 129–30
jobs see employment
Johnson, Bryan 168
junk mail 189
K
Kazakhstan 6
Kearney, Melissa 79–80
Kennedy, John F. 12
Kenya
democracy 40
mobile-money systems 176
Kiribati 7
Kleven, Henrik 135–6
knots 9–10
Kohler, Timothy 121
Kyrgyzstan 6
L
laces 9–10
Lagos 199
Landais, Camille 135–6
languages
and computers 225–6
gender-inclusive 229–30
letter names 217–18
and national identity 223–4
Papua New Guinea 219–20
Serbo-Croatian 221–2
Unicode 215
World Bank writing style 227–8
Latimer, Hugh 246
Leeson, Peter 26
leisure
board games in Nigeria 199–200
chess 205–6
gambling 209–10
video games and unemployment 169–70
see also festivals; holidays
lemons 95–6
letter names 217–18
Libya 31
life expectancy 125–6
Lincoln, Abraham 242
