Who's Naughty? Who's Nice? This Christmas in Retail

LifeSite has posted an article on its website entitled The Naughty And Nice List - Which Companies are Allowing a "Merry Christmas". The article is about the Liberty Council's list "which catalogs retailers who either censor or recognize Christmas." This list is a part of its Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign. Here are a few of the stores that made the list:

NAUGHTY:

Lowe's - Employees cannot say "Merry Christmas" to customers. Lowe's corporate advised that only when customers initiate a "Merry Christmas" greeting can employees respond in kind.

Toys 'R' Us - "Holidays" are in, "Merry Christmas" is out.

Barnes & Noble - Web site says "Gift Guide," "Holiday gift baskets," "Holiday sled," "Holiday delivery," but no Christmas. Stores not allowed to put up Christmas trees, and employees are not allowed to say "Merry Christmas."

Best Buy - Web site says "Unique gifts for the season," "Holiday gift ideas." Spokesperson said the use of "Merry Christmas" is disrespectful.

Eddie Bauer - Customer service would not recognize Christmas, they "don't want to offend Jews, those who celebrate Kwanza and those who have no religious preference."

Gap - "Holiday Survival Guide" with no mention of Christmas.

Old Navy - We has holiday gift guide

Home Depot - Web site says "Holiday Store" and "Holiday Lighting" and only at bottom of site says "Make your Christmas decorations complete." Stores have "Holiday Home Accents."

K-Mart - Selling "Holiday trees" and "Holiday wreaths."

NICE:

JC Penney - Web site has "Christmas Shipping Countdown."

Joann Fabrics - Offers Christmas and Holiday fabrics.

Kohl's - Christmas is all over TV, print and radio ads.

L.L. Bean - Advertises and distributes "Christmas Catalog."

Macy's - "Merry Christmas!" on its home page. (It better given the movie Miracle on 34th Street takes place there.)

Michaels - Web site has a Christmas section.

M&M-Mars Candies - Will have red and green candies with pictures of Christmas trees and angels among other images.

Target - Web site says "Christmas Decor," although the physical store has "Holiday entertaining." TV ad says "Merry Christmas."

Wal-Mart - Has a "Christmas Shop," plays Christmas carols, and employees can say "Merry Christmas."

Sears – Stores have signs that say “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holidays” although Web site just says “holidays”.

I find it interesting that 2 divisions of 1 corporation is being consistant (even if in the wrong way) while 2 divisions of another corporation are on the seprate lists. The 2 that are consitant are Gap & Old Navy. Sears is owned by K-Mart yet Sears made the nice list, K-Mart the naughty.

(The complete list is available in 2 formats on theLiberty Council's website, PDF or MSWord.)

These corporations need to hear from us. There are 2 ways, the most obvious is where you spend your money. The 2nd is to write corporate or contact the local store manager & tell them how you feel & let them know you won't shop there until they go back to acknowledging Christmas. They can find a better way to acknowledge all the holidays than a generic "Happy Holidays. This process is known as hitting them in the pocketbook. If they see that being PC about the season is going to cost them sales they will change if only to keep from loosing money.

20 yrs ago when I worked in retail I would at times say "Happy Holidays" as an alternative to "Merry Christmas". Back then it was understood that Christmas is what you ment & that you weren't trying to avoid offending someone. The meaning of "Happy Holidays" has changed. Now it is to avoid the mention of any holiday, but esp Christmas. That is what offends me. If it was used in conjunction with "Merry Christmas" I would have no objection. If someone wished me a "Happy Hanukkah" or "Happy Kwanzaa" I wouldn't be offended. I would be happy to see someone able to freely express his or her beliefs. So, why can't I just as freely see mine expressed?

(Updated 2 Dec 2006 12:49 am added faithmouse cartoon)