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.
Auto Dealers Would Face Brunt of Burden Under California Fuel Economy Rules
NADA chairman says a single, national fuel economy standard is a more effective way to cut greenhouse gas emissions
The chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, John McEleney, told the Environmental Protection Agency today that complying with state-based fuel economy regulations would cause additional hardship on the nation’s declining number of new car dealers with little environmental benefit.
McEleney’s comments came in testimony at a public hearing held by the EPA as it reconsiders the request of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and more than a dozen states to establish their own fuel economy and greenhouse gas programs. McEleney, a multi-franchise dealer in Iowa, described the California approach as “inherently flawed.”
“Implementing a patchwork of state fuel economy regulations would ultimately pass much of the burden of compliance onto the dealers,” McEleney said.
He predicted that the California approach would force automakers to ration certain popular large models, which would ultimately lead manufacturers to pressure dealers to accept vehicles that their customers may not want to buy. California bases compliance on what vehicles are delivered to a dealership and not what consumers actually demand or ultimately purchase.
“If you look at it closely, the CARB scheme just doesn’t make sense,” McEleney said. “CARB’s regulation exempts any manufacturer that sells less than 60,000 vehicles in California on average for three years. This leaves a large swath of the industry unregulated and would even let Hummer off the hook if it were sold and operated as an independent company.
“If the goal is to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our country’s dependence on foreign oil, then CARB’s fuel economy plan would not be as effective as a single, national fuel economy standard,” McEleney added.
Since 2005, CARB has sought a waiver from the EPA that would permit California, 13 states and the District of Columbia to regulate vehicle fuel economy. Such a waiver was denied by the EPA last year.
McEleney noted that there has been almost no national analysis or scrutiny on how CARB’s rule would actually work in practice, or why such regulation is even necessary since Congress increased the national fuel economy standard by at least 40 percent in 2007.
Hummer is a good example. About 5,000 Hummers are sold each year in California. General Motors has announced its intent to sell the Hummer brand. If the buyer of Hummer doesn’t already sell more than 55,000 vehicles in California, then Hummer would be exempt from meeting CARB’s rules until 2016.
“Hummer, if it became an independent company, would not be regulated at all under the California plan or in any other state,” McEleney said.
“In contrast, a single, national fuel economy standard requires all automakers to increase fuel savings and thus more effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” McEleney said. “The American economy is fragile. This is not the time to be taking unnecessary regulatory risks.”
For McEleney’s complete testimony, visit http://www.nada.org/patchwork
- Double Regulated Under Calif. Regs.: BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Toyota and General Motors
- Expected to be Exempt from Calif. Regs.: Audi, Hyundai, Isuzu, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Suzuki, Volkswagen and other high-end luxury brands
- May Soon Be Exempt: Chinese automakers, Indian automakers, Daimler, Saturn,* Hummer,* Volvo* and Saab*
* If sold to an operator selling a total of less than 60,000 vehicles on average in California
Source: National Automobile Dealers Association