For more than 30 years, we've calculated the prices of the twelve gifts from the classic carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas." The result is the PNC Christmas Price Index, a unique and whimsical holiday tradition that makes learning about the economy fun.
A group of partridges can be called a “bevy,” “brace,” “covey,” “jugging” or “warren.”
In ancient Greek mythology, the turtle dove was sacred to Demeter, the goddess of harvest and agriculture, as well as Aphrodite.
The French Hen can also be called the “Faverolles,” as the breed was developed in the 1860s near the villages of Houdan and Faverolles in France.
The four calling birds we sing about today were, in earlier times, called four “colly” birds, which is an ancient term for blackbirds.
Five golden rings may actually refer to five ring-necked pheasants, which seems logical, as it is more consistent with the rest of the bird gifts in the song.
Geese are generally monogamous birds, living together in permanent pairs throughout the year. And we thought the turtle doves were lovebirds!
Swans also generally are monogamous, however their “divorce rate” is estimated around 6%. Swans may switch mates if nesting fails, and some that lose their mate do not resume mating again.
Since many milkmaids would have been exposed to cowpox, they were partially immune to smallpox, so their skin was unharmed and smooth. This is where the phrase “smooth as a milkmaid’s skin” came from.
National Dance Day was established in 2010 and is celebrated each year on July 30. National Dance Day was created by Nigel Lythgoe, the creator of “So You Think You Can Dance” (FOX) and co-president of the Dizzy Feet Foundation. This grassroots campaign encourages Americans to embrace dance as a fun and positive way to maintain good health and fight obesity.
Leigh Grant, a children’s book author, claims the gifts in the song “The 12 Days of Christmas” are popular parts of a medieval feast. The leaping lords would have been entertaining the guests alongside the drummers and pipers, while the birds were eaten.
Illustrations from Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales show that several of the pilgrims were pipers.
Drums almost all sound unique. The factors that impact the sound of any particular drum are the material of the drum head, the tension of the drum head against the shell and the type of shell.
This gift's spike in price can be fully attributed to the Pear Tree's increase (+5.2% from $189.99 to $199.95), while the Partridge remained flat. The Pear Tree spiked due to increased cost of living for workers and limited supply of larger, more mature trees.
This version of the CPI removes the most unpredictable gift from the index - the Swans-a-Swimming.
The holiday season comes with a dizzying array of demands, whether it's shopping for gifts, baking, entertaining or cleaning, to name just a few. Studies show that coloring has meditative benefits and can help ease stress.
And, coloring isn't just for kids anymore! So go ahead, gather your colored pencils and produce your own beautiful interpretation of "The 12 Days of Christmas."
The PNC Christmas Price Index® shows the current cost for one set of each of the gifts given in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas."
It is similar to the U.S. Consumer Price Index, which measures the changing prices of goods and services like housing, food, clothing, transportation and more that reflect the spending habits of the average American.
The goods and services in the PNC Christmas Price Index® are far more whimsical, of course. And most years, the price changes closely mirror those in the U.S. Consumer Price Index. It’s a fun way to measure consumer spending and trends in the economy. So, even if Pipers Piping or Geese-a-Laying didn’t make your gift list this year, you can still learn a lot by checking out why their prices have increased or decreased over the years.
*Revised: 2014 traditional price adjusted to better reflect open-market pricing.
It all started 34 years ago as a way to engage clients of PNC’s predecessor, Provident National Bank in Philadelphia, during the traditionally light holiday weeks. What hatched as the creative brainchild of the bank’s then-chief economist has since grown into one of PNC’s most popular and anticipated economic reports.
TRENDS: HOW THE INDEX HAS CHANGED SINCE 1984
Over the years, trends have emerged, and the PNC Christmas Price Index® (PNC CPI) has often increased or decreased at a rate consistent with the U.S. Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation produced by the U.S. Department of Labor. Three factors have largely driven changes in the index over the past 34 years[1]:
Thom Melcher is executive vice president and chief investment officer for the PNC Asset Management Group, responsible for investment strategy, segment management and product, portfolio and risk management, and PNC Capital Advisers. He is also the chairman of PNC’s Investment Policy Committee and multiple risk and governance committees. As the chief spokesperson for Christmas Price Index, Melcher notes that the annual tradition reflects the lighter side of the trends the investment group follows to make sense of the economy and markets for its clients.
Rebekah McCahan serves as a member of the Investment Strategy team for the PNC Asset Management Group and Institutional Investments. She is responsible for developing asset allocation models, directing asset allocation changes, analyzing new investment instruments for consideration in client accounts, and helping to create quarterly and monthly investment outlooks and reviews. She is also responsible for gathering prices for the annual PNC Christmas Price Index®.
Bill Stone is executive vice president and chief investment strategist for the PNC Asset Management Group. He is responsible for leading PNC’s Investment Strategy team of analysts in monitoring many factors that influence the direction of domestic and international financial markets. He is responsible for defining the asset allocations and portfolio strategies throughout the organization to advise individual and institutional investors.
What is the Christmas Price Index®, anyway?
The PNC Christmas Price Index (PNC CPI) shows the current cost for one set of each of the gifts given in the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas."
What is the "True Cost of Christmas?"
The True Cost of Christmas is the cumulative cost of all the gifts when you count each repetition in the song, reflecting the cost of 364 gifts. This cost has measured even wider fluctuations over the years.
Why did PNC start tabulating the Christmas Price Index®?
It all started 34 years ago as a way to engage clients of PNC’s predecessor, Provident National Bank in Philadelphia, during the traditionally light holiday weeks. What hatched as the creative brainchild of the bank’s then-chief economist has since grown into one of PNC’s most popular and anticipated economic reports.
Who is the holiday shopper at PNC?
Since 1986, Rebekah McCahan of PNC Asset Management Group has handled our shopping duties, putting a price tag on French hens, maids-a-milking, gold rings and all the other items in the PNC CPI. She has evaluated some distinctive economic trends along the way.
Where does McCahan do her shopping?
The partridge and dove prices came from a national bird supplier. Hatcheries provided the cost of the hens and swans. The price of the geese came from a waterfowl farm. A national pet chain provided the price of the calling birds, or canaries. The pear tree price came from Cinnaminson Nurseries in New Jersey. A national jewelry chain provided the cost of five 14-carat gold rings, and PHILADANCO, a modern dance company in Philadelphia, offered the price of ladies dancing. Maids-a-milking are the only unskilled laborers in the PNC CPI and, as such, they reflect the federal minimum wage.Year after year, the sources for the prices remain the same for the most part for consistency, but they have changed on occasion due to changes in the market or business landscape.
What has changed since 1984?
Many things. First, the Internet. Today, it’s easier for us to find the goods and services listed in the song online. This convenience comes at a price, however: goods and services from the survey that are purchased online tend to be more expensive than those purchased in a more traditional transaction, mainly due to added shipping and handling costs of the specialty items. In 2015, we adjusted the current prices of the turtle doves and swans to better reflect open market pricing, and revised the historical data to correlate. Second, over the last 34 years, the price of services in general has increased, while the price of goods has slowed. In the 1984 PNC CPI, goods were by far the more expensive component of the Index — today it’s services. Since 1984, the PNC CPI has increased 83%. Also related to services, in 2007, federal laws increased the minimum wage and gave the maids-a-milking their first raise since 1997. The wage increased again in both 2008 and 2009, and is now holding steady at $7.25 per hour. Third, fuel costs. As fuel prices go up and down, they have a major effect on the cost of shipping.
Will shoppers spend more than ever before…again?
Looks like it, but that’s because inflation usually makes the PNC CPI a little more expensive each year. The underlying inflation in this year’s core PNC CPI (where the volatile cost of swans is excluded) is up 1.1%. In 2003, we had the largest jump in our history, 21.6%[1]. Although this year’s increase of 0.6% is not dramatic, it is the most expensive year ever at $34,558.65, approximately $200 or 0.6 percent more than last year's cost.
In which year could a shopper afford to be a scrooge?
The cheapest PNC Christmas Price Index® in dollars occurred in 1995, when the cost of Christmas was just under $15,600[1].
The PNC Christmas Price Index® is a simple, yet entertaining way to introduce basic economics to classrooms around the country. By pricing out each gift from “The Twelve Days of Christmas” year after year, we are able to provide a snapshot of our current economy, lessons on inflation and other economic trends.
These self-contained activities from The Stock Market Game™ give you everything you need to use the PNC Christmas Price Index® as an effective teaching tool. The Stock Market Game™ is a program of the SIFMA Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of the financial markets for individuals of all backgrounds.
2017 CPI Lesson Plan (English)
2017 CPI Lesson Plan (En Español)
In 2015, we adjusted the current prices of the turtle doves and swans to better reflect open market pricing, and revised the historical data to correlate.
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