Wal-Mart Confronted on 'Happy Holidays' Options

[Chii]

Wal-Mart Confronted on 'Happy Holidays'
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A group of religious protesters demonstrated outside a Wal-Mart superstore Saturday, hoping to turn away customers by calling attention to the retailer's decision to use "happy holidays" rather than "merry Christmas" in its seasonal advertising.

But even shoppers who agreed with the protesters weren't willing to interrupt their quest for holiday deals.

"I believe in Christ, and I don't like the use of 'xmas' or the use of 'happy holidays,'" said Steven Van Noy, 39, as he left the store loaded down with packages. "The bottom line is that they had what I needed at Wal-Mart, so I went to Wal-Mart to buy it."

Controversy over the secularization of Christmas is nothing new, but this year religious groups are publicly taking on retailers who have decided to tone down the religious aspects of the holiday in their store decorations and promotional material.

In an online petition, the American Family Association recently gathered more than 500,000 signatures asking Target to include Christmas in its promotions. Stores such as Sears and Wal-Mart are facing boycotts.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Amy Wyatt said the company has made no effort to remove Christmas from its holiday ads. She said a promotion set to run from mid-November to early January was simply misunderstood: its slogan is "home for the holidays."

"It was a matter of choosing a slogan that carries through the entire season," Wyatt said. "The signs went up before Thanksgiving and won't be taken down until after New Year's. The idea was to focus on the family."

About 50 protesters took part in Saturday's demonstration, organized by religious leaders. d**k Otterstad of the Church of the Divide donned a Santa Claus costume and greeted shoppers with the message: Don't forget about the meaning of Christmas.

"It is insulting that Wal-Mart has chosen to ignore the reason for the season," Otterstad said. "Taking the word 'Christmas' out of the holiday implies there's something sinful about it. ... This is a part of our culture."

what is the big deal with "happy holidays"? not everyone celebrates christmas, have these people not heard of kwanzaa or hanukkah? "happy holidays" just covers all the bases.

[*digital.fragrance*]

3) Christmas is still very much Christian if it is meant to be celebrated for Christian purposes. "Christ" is removed by individual choice, just like it's individual choice to not remove "Christ" out of Christmas. That is the freedom promised by our government; the Christian God was also said to have given us free will. And just because something is celebrated nationally doesn't mean we all celebrate it for the same reason. Is your hatred, yours and other Christians, justified?

4) Um, no one is going to force anyone to continue working for him/her without violating some kind labor law. If it's financial reasons that a person would stay at a work environment that he/she doesn't like, then it's still by CHOICE that the person chose to stay. So yes, EVERYONE REALLY DOES have the CHOICE to quit. The law supports it; no one forbids it. If you really think that employers should not have such rights, what's the point of owning your own business if you cannot tell your employees what to do within the legal limits? Which company is forbidding their employees to say Merry Christmas? I'd like to know. As I've said, even the President was attacked by Christians when he sent "Happy Holidays" cards. Why don't Christians take a look at who's actually doing the limiting of freedom of speech on a larger scale? I haven't seen much protest for Merry Christmas, yet I've seen plenty of protest of Happy Holidays.

3. I know - but many don't celebrate it for the same reasons. Culture celebrates it for Santa Clause and presents, etc... and Christians celebrate Christ's birth. I don't have any hatred, and I honestly don't know where you read that. Us Christians ( at least most of us) don't have any hatred - we are just extremely disappointed in this turn of events. Look at it this way - just recently in Indiana, the word "Jesus" is not supposed to be used in Congress' prayers. And then there's the whole "no God in education" issue. The nation is pushing us out completely. To be honest, it's getting quite frustrating.

For example, this is what is happening:

]After a series of reports by WND, however, Wal-Mart officials satisfied demands by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, which had called for a national boycott after accusing the retail giant of discriminating against Christmas while promoting other seasonal holidays by name, such as Kwanzaa and Hanukkah.

Christmas is rejected and not any other holidays.

4. I suppose so, but imagine a single mother parenting two kids and that is her ONLY income (and there is no hope of getting another job), she doesn't have much of a choice. About people not being allowed to say "Merry Christmas", one of our local radio personalities called Target and said "Merry Christmas" and hte operator responded "Happy Holidays"... and it went back and forth like that, and eventually, the woman said, "Sir, what can I help you with?" and he responded, "I just hoped that in wishing you a 'Merry Christmas' that I would get one in response." ..and she said, "Sir, that's not my job."

About the protesting, that is in response to the non-use of "Merry Christmas." I still don't understand why "Merry Christmas" was removed when there wasn't any protesting about it. Christmas is a national, cultural, and religious holiday. There is no excuse to ban it.

My point is - Removing "Merry Christmas" takes away our freedom of expression. Using Happy Holidays isn't bad, it's just the act of taking away Merry Christmas that is frustrating.