The Lousy Christmas That Almost Wasn't

Slate's Chatterbag Tim Noah puts the "worst" holiday shopping season in three decades into perspective. Nut sentence: "A close reading of any of these stories makes clear that more U.S. dollars were spent buying holiday gifts this year than in any previous year since the birth of Jesus Christ." That doesn't tell the whole story—there was a 1.5 percent increase in spending this year, but when you adjust for inflation, that looks more like a 0.5 percent to 1 percent decrease. (I find it pretty alarming that the Christmas immediately following the September 11 attacks saw more robust shopping than this year's.) Still, the point is made, and it's a good one.