Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'christmas'

December 27, 2019

10 economic lessons from ‘Emmett Otter’s Jugband Christmas’

Jim Henson’s beloved Emmett Otter’s Jugband Christmas first entered the hearts of Canadian children in December 1977 and made its U.S. debut on HBO one year later. The musical Muppet adventure tells the story of widow Alice Otter and her tenderhearted son, Emmett, who decide the only way they can afford Christmas presents this year is to win a talent competition – with an exacting entrance fee. Continue Reading...
January 04, 2019

Is capitalism making us fat?

As workers emerge from the holidays an average of one pound heavier, weight loss tops every list of New Year’s resolutions. Yet in 2019, physicians are asking politicians to classify obesity as a disease to be treated by taxing sugary foods – and some commentators are blaming our penchant for overindulgence on the capitalist system.    Continue Reading...
December 17, 2018

Explainer: Christmas 2018 by the numbers

$75 – Average amount U.S. consumers spent on real Christmas trees in 2017. $107 – Average amount U.S. consumers spent on fake Christmas trees in 2017. 27,400,000 – Number of real Christmas trees sold in the U.S. Continue Reading...
December 21, 2016

Calvin Coolidge on the spiritual power of Christmas

In his many addresses to the nation, President Calvin Coolidge made a point of routinely redirecting the country’s attention to the “things of the spirit.” In his Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, he encouraged the country to reorient its vision of abundance, progressing not only in material prosperity, but also “in moral and spiritual things.” Continue Reading...
December 19, 2016

Explainer: Christmas 2016 by the Numbers

As the most widely observed cultural holiday in the world, Christmas produces many things—joy, happiness, gratitude, reverence. And numbers. Lots of peculiar, often large, numbers. Here are a few to contemplate this season: $50.82 – Average amount U.S. Continue Reading...
December 12, 2016

The cost of Twelve Days of Christmas: $34,363.49

If you’ve been stuck at the mall listening to a song about ten Lords a-Leaping and eight Maids a-Milking you can blame the Jesuits. Rumor has it they invented the Twelve Days of Christmas song as a catechism in code for persecuted Catholics in 16th-century England. Continue Reading...