The shift from winter to spring is always met with a warm welcome – for bears, for the earth, and for us.
Easter Celebrations
120 million pounds of Easter candy are purchased each year, and it’s a close second to Valentine’s Day for chocolate consumption. 16 billion pounds of jelly beans are made for Easter. Approximately $17.3 billion was predicted to be spent on Easter this year.
“Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems” Rainer Maria Rilke
Home Improvement
Of course, spring is about more than just holiday spending. Everything – and everyone – seem to come back to life in the spring. As the crocuses brave the early cool mornings of the first spring days, homeowners eagerly head off to home improvement stores and start planning gardens, home improvement projects, and spring cleaning projects – all of which are predicted to see increased consumer spending this year.
“Spring: the music of open windows” Terri Guillemets
Play Ball!
April is not only a wonderful month of showers that usher in May flowers; it’s a month that helps nurture us out of the cold. The month begins with the opening of baseball season. Nothing says warm weather is on the way more than that first “Play Ball!”
“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything” William Shakespeare
Renewal
In April, we also celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day – two days that help bring us out of winter slumber along with the earth and trees. We end the month of April with Pay It Forward Day, reminding us to spend some of our time doing for others. It’s a wonderful time of renewal.
“Life stands before me like an eternal spring with new and brilliant clothes.” Carl Friedrich Gauss
Moms, Horses, and Soldiers
As spring unfolds and the days become longer, May brings not only flowers but Mother’s Day. There are 85.4 million moms in the U.S., and we spend $671 million on cards and over $20 billion on gifts to tell her how special she is. May is also the month to don your best hat, make a mint julep, and watch the Kentucky Derby. May ends with Memorial Day, a day not only about remembering the brave soldiers who have sacrificed for this country but the unofficial start to summer.
“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” Hal Borland
Celebrating Dads and Flags
In June, summer is so close we can taste it (in the form of ice cream and popsicles and barbecues). But before summer makes its appearance, we get the chance to celebrate Flag Day and Father’s Day. We love our dads, with Father’s Day spending just under $13 billion – more these days on tech gadgets than on ties.
“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’” Robin Williams
Happy spring!
