Christmas is one of the most well-known holidays with its unique celebration of family and goodwill. It has been popularized on a tremendous global scale with a celebrant population that has branched out from Christianity to other religions. With this expansion, businesses aim to maximize their profits.

“It’s all about big business. Companies use Black Friday to get from the red (negative) into the black (positive) with profits and use that performance to boost sales in the holiday season,” said economics teacher Mr. David Lyons.

According to ABC News, an average American spends $700 on gifts during the holidays. This means that the Christmas industry makes about $465 billion annually in the U.S. alone.

“Christmas is a big deal in America and is much more commercialized than other holidays,’’ said senior Michelle Cecchin.

This significant boom in the market during Christmastime is not solely concentrated in the United States. Europe stands as the second major market for Christmas due to its heavily Christian population. The World Economic Forum reports that the United Kingdom and Germany, which annually spend $94 billion and $80 billion, respectively, on gifts have the largest Christmas economies in the world. Research by the World Atlas shows that Romanians spend the highest percent of their incomes on Christmas: about 32% per person. This is due to the fact that Romanians begin their Christmas season early on November 30th while other countries begin to celebrate later in the season.

While North America and Europe are expected to have the largest Christmas economies, other parts of the world also spend significant amounts of money on Christmas. In South America, Brazil spends the most on Christmas. Analytics conducted by The Brazil Business found that Brazil’s economy is boosted by about BRL 31,2 billion ($7,627,584,000) due to the Christmas season.

Christmas spending in Asia has been gradually rising as well. The Business Inquirer reported that Filipinos each spend an average of $388 (16,606 Philippine pesos) on gifts. Many Chinese companies give bonuses to their employees at the end of the year, which allows them to purchase high-end Christmas gifts that total about 1,379 RMB each ($221). This contributes to the overall $25 billion market for Christmastime gifts in China according to Forbes.

Despite the astonishing commercialization of Christmas, its true meaning still shines through alongside the gifts we buy. From the United Kingdom to the Philippines, Christmas brings the same spirit of giving to all.