Celebrations foster countless entrepreneurial enterprises here in the United States and undoubtedly, abroad as well. In the course of this article, we will look at some of the businesses that are rooted in the ubiquitous celebration.

Perhaps chief among the enterprises that surround celebrations are those related to food and drink, for what is a celebration without food and something refreshing to wash it down.

Let’s begin our exploration with Thanksgiving, a celebration impossible without food! There is but one main course that springs to mind for the Thanksgiving meal and that is turkey. Turkey production in the United States reached 263 million birds in 2004 with a ready to cook average weight of 20.7 pounds. In 2005, turkey production was valued at just under $3.2 billion. By 2006, it had reached $3.55 billion. Not a bad business to be in and rooted in the Thanksgiving celebration.

What’s Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie? The American public seems to be saying, not much! Illinois alone produced 457 million pounds. And cranberry sauce is a must, as evidenced by the 649 million pounds produced in 2005. Now look out for this, sweet potatoes, also a traditional favorite, saw production in 2004 reach 1.6 billion pounds, and yes, I said billion!

Now I can’t say with certainty that all the turkeys, sweet potatoes, cranberries and pumpkins are consumed for Thanksgiving. A fair share of these are destined for the Christmas holiday table, but the point I am making is that significant industry has grown out of this annual celebration we call Thanksgiving.

Then comes Christmas! Of course Christmas celebrations consume its fair share of the previously mentioned foods but additionally, there is eggnog, apple cider, walnuts, pecans and fruitcakes.

Other enterprises unique to the Christmas celebration are Christmas trees (real and artificial), garlands, wreaths, decorative lights, wrapping paper, ribbon, bows, greeting cards, toys and a variety of gifts that range across the entire spectrum of consumer goods. In fact, in the United States, it is only Christmas consumer spending that has the potential to bring retailers into the black in terms of profits. Weak consumer Christmas spending has bankrupted many a retailer!

The Superbowl, a uniquely American invention, ranks as the third largest “celebration” in America. It has become, since its inception in 1967, an American institution. The Superbowl is not only a sports spectacular, but also a money-generating machine of astounding proportions. The nationally televised Superbowl of 1967 generated $42,500 for a 30-second commercial spot. By 1995, the average 30-second spot cost $1 million and by 2000, exceeded $2 million. In 2008 the same commercial spot had reached $2.7 million and 2010 witnessed the cost of a 30-second spot soar to $3 million plus! With 67 such spots available, that is a whopping $200 million plus in advertising revenue for the network with the winning bid to have exclusive coverage of the game.

The Superbowl had 97.5 million viewers last year, drinking beer, eating chips and a variety of other snack foods for the nearly 3 hour duration of the game and creating revenue aplenty for brewers and the snack food industry.

Clearly, celebrations have a significant role in driving the economy of the United States of America!

Author Bio: Ronald Fisackerly is a writer for Skylighter which sells wedding sparklers , fire lantern and punk sticks as well as a variety of other items.

Category: Society
Keywords: wedding sparklers,fire lantern, punk sticks, celebrations