While July Fourth is America’s favorite grilling holiday, other countries celebrate their National Holidays much the same way
While the Fourth of July barbecue is as uniquely American as baseball and apple pie, the first International Weber GrillWatch Survey(TM) shows that outdoor cooks around the globe celebrate their own national holidays in much the same way.
Independence Day is the number one grilling holiday in the United States, according to the Survey, with 88 percent of American grill owners choosing to cook outside during this day. Interestingly, grillers from Canada and Australia also cite their countries’ national holidays as their top days for grilling–as well as those from France and Denmark.
The recent International Weber GrillWatch Survey, the only one of its kind, probes the grilling habits, knowledge, and preferences of 15,614 grill owners in 15 countries across five continents, representing a total of 390 million grillers in countries with populations totaling 2.1 billion people:
Canada / Canada Day: Canada Day commemorates the July 1, 1867 enactment of the British North America Act (which united Canada as a single country of four provinces), and is the top grilling holiday with 73 percent of Canadian grillers cooking outside. Labour Day is a close second there at 63 percent, followed by Father’s Day (53 percent), and Victoria Day (50 percent).
Australia / Australia Day: Australia Day is celebrated annually on January 26. It recognizes the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia. According to the Survey, 69 percent of outdoor cooks there grill this day, with Christmas and New Year’s Day as a close second and third (65 and 63 percent, respectively).
France / 14 Juillet (Bastille Day): Fifty-four percent of French grillers cook outside on Bastille Day, the national holiday commemorating the end of the French Revolution and the symbolic storming of the Bastille. Ponts du mois de Mai (long holiday weekends in May) are second at 52 percent.
Denmark / Grundlovsdag: Fifty-two percent of Danish Survey respondents say this is their favorite day to barbecue, making it the number one choice. While not an official holiday, the Danes celebrate this day when King Frederik the VII signed the first Danish democratic constitution on June 5, 1849-putting an end to the absolute monarchy. Coincidentally, it’s also Father’s Day there.
Norway and Sweden / Mid-summer’s Eve: Called St. Hans aften in Norway and Midsommarafton in Sweden, 81 percent of Norwegian and 75 percent of Swedish Weber International Survey respondents cite this June 23 holiday as their favorite. Also according to the Survey, both countries choose their respective national holidays as their second most popular times to cook outdoors: Fifty-eight percent of Norwegians grill on Nasjonaldag (celebrating the 1814 ratification of the country’s constitution) and 40 percent of Swedes grill on Sveriges nationaldag, which celebrates their country’s origins.
Here are some more favorite grilling holidays from other countries that were included in the International Weber GrillWatch Survey:
Mexico / Dia del Padre: Mexican grill owners responded that Father’s Day is a top grilling holiday at 57 percent, but their number one favorite occasion to grill overall is birthdays (77 percent).
Brazil / Ano Novo: New Year’s is a huge grilling holiday in Brazil, with 78 percent of Survey respondents there celebrating around the barbecue.
Germany / An Geburstagen (birthdays): While 76 percent of German Survey respondents cited birthdays as their favorite occasion to grill, Pfingsten, a religious holiday, is second at 56 percent. Pfingsten celebrates Pentecost, 50 days after Easter Sunday.
UK / Summer Bank Holiday: Eighty-two percent of UK grillers cook outdoors on the Summer Bank Holiday that falls on the last Monday in August.
Holland / Verjaardag: The Dutch choose birthdays and anniversaries as their favorite grilling occasions (69 percent) with Pinksteren, a religious holiday celebrating Pentecost, second at 37 percent.
Spain / 15 de Agosto Asuncion: International Weber GrillWatch Survey respondents in Spain choose this August 15 holiday as their favorite day to cook outside (57 percent); it commemorates the assumption of the Virgin Mary.
Italy / Ferragosto: As their top grilling occasion, 76 percent of Italian grillers light the outdoor barbecue on August 15 to also recognize the assumption of the Virgin Mary during the middle of the country’s month-long August holiday.
India / Festival Season: While store-bought barbecues is a slowly burgeoning market in this country, 56 percent of those who grill choose birthdays as their favorite occasions followed by the late summer/early fall “Festival season” at 50 percent.
Methodology
All online fieldwork was conducted by U.S.-based Greenfield Online in 12 countries, while telephone interviews in Mexico and India were conducted by TNS, and in Brazil by Synovate. Final data was analyzed by Denver-based KeyStat Marketing, Inc.
U.S. Bureau Facts for Features: The Fourth of July 2009
On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the country.
2.5 million
In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation.
Source: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab.html
307 million
The nation’s population on this July Fourth.
Source: Population clock http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html
Fourth of July Cookouts
More than 1 in 4
The chance that the hot dogs and pork sausages consumed on the Fourth of July originated in Iowa. The Hawkeye State was home to 19.3 million hogs and pigs on March 1, 2009. This represents more than one-fourth of the nation’s total. North Carolina (9.4 million) and Minnesota (7.3 million) were the runners-up.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov/
6.8 billion pounds
Total production of cattle and calves in Texas in 2007. Chances are good that the beef hot dogs, steaks and burgers on your backyard grill came from the Lone Star State, which accounted for about one-sixth of the nation’s total production. And if the beef did not come from Texas, it very well may have come from Nebraska (4.7 billion pounds) or Kansas (4.1 billion pounds).
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov/
6
Number of states in which the revenue from broiler chickens was $1 billion or greater between December 2006 and November 2007. There is a good chance that one of these states — Georgia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi or Texas — is the source of your barbecued chicken.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov/
About 4 in 10
The odds that your side dish of baked beans originated from North Dakota, which produced 39 percent of the nation’s dry, edible beans in 2008. Another popular Fourth of July side dish is corn on the cob. Florida, California, Georgia and New York together accounted for 61 percent of the sweet corn produced nationally in 2008.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov/
Please Pass the Potato Salad
Potato salad and potato chips are popular food items at Fourth of July barbecues. Half of the nation’s spuds were produced in Idaho or Washington state in 2008.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov/
More than three-fourths
Amount of the nation’s head lettuce production in 2008 that came from California. This lettuce may end up in your salad or on your burger.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov/
More than 7 in 10
The chances that the fresh tomatoes in your salad came from California or Florida, which combined accounted for 71 percent of U.S. tomato production last year. The ketchup on your burger or hot dog probably came from California, which accounted for 96 percent of forecasted processed tomato production in 2008.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov/
Florida
The state that led the nation in watermelon production last year (861 million pounds). Other leading producers of this popular fruit included California, Texas and Georgia, each with more than 500 million pounds.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov/
78 million
Number of Americans who said they have taken part in a barbecue during the previous year.
It’s probably safe to assume a lot of these events took place on Independence Day.
Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2009, Table 1200 http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab2006_2009.html
Fireworks
$193 million
The value of fireworks imported from China in 2008, representing the bulk of all U.S. fireworks imported ($202 million). U.S. exports of fireworks, by comparison, came to just $28.1 million in 2008, with Australia purchasing more than any other country ($5.8 million).
Source: Foreign Trade Statistics http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/
$17.3 million
The value of U.S. manufacturers’ shipments of fireworks in 2002.
Source: 2002 Economic Census http://www.census.gov/prod/ec02/ec0231i325998t.pdf
Flags
$3.4 million
In 2008, the dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags. The vast majority of this amount
($3.0 million) was for U.S. flags made in China.
Source: Foreign Trade Statistics http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/
$569,400
Dollar value of U.S. flags exported in 2008. Belgium was the leading customer, purchasing $186,400 worth.
Source: Foreign Trade Statistics http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/
$349.2 million
Annual dollar value of shipments of fabricated flags, banners and similar emblems by the nation’s manufacturers, according to the latest published economic census data.
Source: 2002 Economic Census http://www.census.gov/prod/ec02/ec0231i314999t.pdf
Patriotic-Sounding Names
31
Number of places nationwide with “liberty” in their name. The most populous one as of July 1, 2007, is Liberty, Mo. (29,993). Iowa, with four, has more of these places than any other state: Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty.
– Thirty-one places have “eagle” in their name — after the majestic bird that serves as our national symbol. (Places include cities, towns, villages and census-designated places.) The most populous such place is Eagle Pass, Texas, with 26,285 residents.
– Eleven places have “independence” in their name. The most populous of these is Independence, Mo., with 110,704 residents.
– Five places adopted the name “freedom.” Freedom, Calif., with 6,000 residents, has the largest population among these.
– There is one place named “patriot” — Patriot, Ind., with a population of 190.
– And what could be more fitting than spending the Fourth of July in a place called “America”? There are five such places in the country, with the most populous being American Fork, Utah, population 26,472.
Sources: Population estimates http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/012242.ht ml and American FactFinder www.census.gov
The British are Coming!
$112.4 billion
Dollar value of trade last year between the United States and the United Kingdom, making the British, our adversary in 1776, our sixth-leading trading partner today.
Sources: Foreign Trade Statistics http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/highlights/top/top0812yr.html