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"  Holidays are considered a time for indulgence. Rumors fly that the average American gains around ten pounds during the December festivities, but food consumption at Christmas only ranks third, behind Thanksgiving and Super Bowl Sunday. While the average amount of calories consumed per person per average day is usually between 2,000 and 2,500, one Christmas meal can weigh in at 3,000 calories \u2014 not including other foods eaten that day. Savory Eats \u2022 According to the USDA, over 244 million turkeys are raised in the US, with 22 million of those birds showing up on Christmas tables nation-wide. \u2022 7.3 billion shrimp are munched at 46 million different holiday parties. More From Delish: Party Starters - 16 Holiday Appetizer Recipes Holiday Candy \u2022 Candy canes are a Christmas staple and on average 1.76 billion of the festive minty red and white sticks are made annually. That&amp;#039;s enough candy canes to travel the distance between Santa Claus, Indiana, and North Pole, Arkansas, and back again 32 times. At 110 calories per 1oz candy cane, that&amp;#039;s 193.6 billion calories worth. \u2022 Another Christmas favorite is the chocolate Santa Claus. Americans are taking a bite out of 19 million tasty St. Nicks every holiday season. Fruitcake \u2022 While statistics about fruitcake consumption are not widely available, one poll found that 38% of people give away their fruitcakes instead of eating them. Since fruitcakes last for 60-90 days without refrigeration, that&amp;#039;s a whole lot of cake getting passed from home to home. More From Delish: Christmas Cookies - Recipes, Pro Tips, and More Eggnog \u2022 This creamy nutmeg-flavored beverage gets its only time in the supermarket spotlight before and after Thanksgiving and then again in weeks leading up to and after Christmas. An average of 122 pounds of the stuff (not including alcoholic add-ins) is slurped down annually, which amounts to about a half a cup per person. Leftovers \u2022 Statistics show that holiday meals are best eaten on the night of \u2014 400,000 Americans will get sick from Christmas leftovers each year. What are the holiday food traditions at your family&amp;#039;s house? Related Video: Easy But Impressive 3-Ingredient Holiday Appetizers       "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.delish.com/food/news/a38889/statistics-about-holiday-food/>