Christians are now organizing a boycott against businesses that fail to wish everyone “Merry Christmas” or use that offensive greeting “Happy Holidays.” Stores are being monitored and blacklisted for just wishing everyone “Happy Holidays” instead of referencing Christmas specifically.
The site www.standforchristmas.com is listing businesses on whether they are naughty or nice on using Christmas in greetings.
The group listed companies by whether they are “friendly,” “negligent,” or “offensive” in the use of such terms as Happy Holidays or Season’s Greetings instead of Merry Christmas.
The group explains in a standard letter:
“Yet, the trend is pervasive to preempt “Christmas” with generic terms like “holiday” or belabored
euphemisms like “Merry gift-giving” – and especially among retailers.”
The group says that it can accept signs reading Happy Holidays if they also include Merry Christmas.
However, the legions of Christmas inspectors report on stores that are light on Christ with such reviews as this one:
Comment Date: Nov 24 2009 10:29 PM
Rating: Christmas-Offensive
Comment: I’ve received Kohls advertisements, have seen the ads on TV and stopped in the store in Pasadena, TX. None of these have had the word Christmas anywhere. The TV ads seem to specifically avoid any mention of Christmas – they show snow flakes and talk about giving the right gift, etc. They also do not mention the typical “Happy Holidays” as if to make it ok, but this is offensive in itself. Not only will I not shop Kohls at Christmas, but will not shop there at any other time.
Another reported the following violation:
Comment Date: Nov 28 2009 10:29 AM
Rating: Christmas-Negligent
Comment: The clerk was friendly, but said, “Happy Holidays” when I was leaving.
Of course, Christ himself tended to be a little less into the whole shopping part of the holidays.
King James Bible
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
Mespo,
Remember, TRUE Christians eat their oats without sugar.
“And I think it will be because leftists and the totalitarian Marxist government they are creating will intentionally isolate Christians and conservatives.
They will have no other choice but to bind together like all beleaguered minority groups do.”
************
What a pile of crap! Christians make up 79% of the US population according to the latest Pew Research Center survey and are responsible for the culture since their elected representative passed the laws and their cultural icons established the culture. What Tootie means is that the doltish, born-again crowd are in the minority culturally, intellectually, and in the thinking of mainstream Christians as well as most other folks. Most all us thank god for that little piece of grace. I think the whiner isn’t the Huffington Post but our own little Tootie!
Happy Solstice!
Elaine,
Thank you for your kind wishes and I hope that whatever the Christmas season means to you and your family, that it brings you all joy and happiness.
It is odd about these sorts of things. I remember when Christians poo-pooed smoking decades ago. Liberally minded folks told them to sit down and shut up, and they did. Now liberals have seen to it that smoking is practically a crime.
Decades ago, especially during the hey day of Jerry Falwell, Christians were very vociferous about the commercialization of Christmas (as well as the icky nature of Halloween). The left, again, told the Christians to sit down and shut up. Now liberals have seen to it that whole holiday is to be twisted into a cultural negative, including the very words we use to celebrate even the meaningful aspects.
Gift giving is not a cultural oddity peculiar to Christians or America, so I don’t get overly anxious about celebrating it. Many cultures have such customs, though merchants here in America push the custom too far.
Most devout Christians make the Christmas story and church the center-piece of the celebration (as they always have).
What we see with the boycotting or lists is probably just another skirmish in the culture war that happens to be connected to a Christian holiday.
But I have a feeling that this sort of thing will get worse on both sides. Consider the whining going on by Arianna Huffington who wants Conservative books to be on a different list than…well…other peoples’ books?
I think there will be, soon, clearing houses on the internet for Christian businesses, doctors, and lawyers. And I think it will be because leftists and the totalitarian Marxist government they are creating will intentionally isolate Christians and conservatives.
They will have no other choice but to bind together like all beleaguered minority groups do. The Jews were famous for this throughout history. Hispanics continue to do this in our country, by greatly preferring their own businesses and professionals.
Factions. Ugg. It has always ruined a nation.
Multiculturalism is very bad. That is the whole point for why Christians resisted it.
We are a civilization in decline. That is why conservatism is a superior political philosophy for us in America, it preserves and conserves.
But all that is lost now. America is no more that good thing she once was because of our culture which has now been destroyed. My hope is for a reawakening! LOL
Jill:
Thank you.
Merry Christmas and may God richly bless you!
Tootie–
I celebrate Christmas too. Merry Christmas to you–and Happy New Year!
Do all Christians fight the commercialization of Christmas? This Stand for Christmas effort seems to belie that. Why have some of them gone to the trouble of rating stores on whether or not their signs and employees say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays and then setting up a website at this time of year? Don’t actions like that play into the commercialization of Christmas?
“Here’s your shopping list for where to shop, shoppers.”
And a Blessed Solstice to you Tootie!
I definitely avoid businesses who expect to profit from Christmas but cop the attitude that they are too good to use the terms commonly associated with the holiday.
Elaine:
Christians already do the things you suggest. Merry Christmas to you!
Gyges:
you could go into the gift catalog business with that sampling of goodies. Yum.
I say boycott or don’t boycott or boycott the boycotters.
And I think that these big “Christian” Churches, what they call mega churches are mostly full of buffoons who wouldn’t know the teachings of Jesus from the teachings of Ramadingdongaling.
But I see nothing wrong with offering up a Merry Christmas, although I wouldn’t boycott a store for not saying it, unless of course they sold porn, alcohol, cigars, dancing shoes, playing cards and potatoe chips with trans fats.
Just one more verse on this subject:
Now Mary buys at Wal-Mart…
Joseph at J. C. Penney.
The Child is just a little babe—
He doesn’t shop at any.
The Magi frequent Target.
The shepherds like Lands’ End.
Thank heavens Stand for Christmas
Had some stores to recommend!
Maybe this group should be fighting the crass commercialization of Christmas instead!
“This years baskets include a mix of: Cookies, bread, pear butter, jam, homemade pie filling, beer bread mix (simply add beer and bake), pickled green tomatoes, etc.”
Am I already on the list or do I need to provide my address? That sounds like an excellent gift.
The beer bread mix reminds me of spring break. (simply add beer and bake)
Byron,
By way of confession, I probably am not going into any of the stores on the boycott list either, but for different reasons. Almost all of the gifts my little family gives out are home-made. It started out of being too poor to afford buying stuff for our huge extended family, but has ended up as one of our favorite parts of the whole season. This years baskets include a mix of: Cookies, bread, pear butter, jam, homemade pie filling, beer bread mix (simply add beer and bake), pickled green tomatoes, etc.
All that’s to say, I don’t care one wit if those people go into a store (except the one I work at, and that’s mainly because I like my job, and like having such a big beer selection near my house) but the instant you bring up your motivation for doing something, you give others the ability to agree or disagree with them.
Very good synopsis Mike Appleton.
From this hard-headed old atheist, To All a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy whatever to whomever…
Mike–
As always–a sage perspective on a subject.
So, the question is, how did we get to this point? When I was young I remember people frequently decrying that what was supposed to be a religious celebration had become secularized by Madison Avenue. The criticism was inaccurate and pointless. It was inaccurate because the development of the tradition of exchanging gifts was not the invention of merchants. And it was pointless because good capitalists will always exploit opportunities for making money. Christmas greeting cards became fashionable, and increasingly elegant, among the Victorians, and over the years Christmas has developed into both a religious holy day and a generic holiday season. There are certainly millions of people in this country who will not see the inside of a church on December 25th, but who will nonetheless enjoy all of the family gatherings, the giving of presents and the general merriment with which we now close out the old year and renew our hope for the new.
The Christmas season is now an enormous economic engine in which virtually everyone participates. In addition, our society is much more diverse than it was 50 years ago. The generic good wishes greeting holiday shoppers is industry’s recognition of those facts. It is not a conspiracy by atheists or Muslim provocateurs. It is not part of a concerted effort by separation of church and state purists to deride Christians or debase Christianity.
The answer to the original question, then, is that the quixotic effort at launching a boycott is driven solely by fear. Conservative Christians see the end of a Christian nation that never actually existed other than as a myth perpetuated by Norman Rockwell and Reader’s Digest. They realize that they can do nothing to end what they perceive to be the commercialization of religion, so they instead demand the religionization (I know, that’s not a word) of commerce. Businessmen owe no such duty.
Byron,
What Gyges said is correct.
It is very pathetic. There’s a reason that Christians are told this is a big issue. If Bill-O told them to protest at the homes of bank executives his portfolio might get hurt and their lives might get better. So the war on Christmas takes the anger and defangs it, keeping people in their place, hating others in the same economic situation but who don’t agree with them on religion. Works like a charm.
Byron,
Oh they should be free to boycott, and I should be free to call them spoiled brats and bullies. Freedom to do something is never freedom from criticism.
Jill:
I know I read an article about a church in Virginia whose pastor did that.
Joel Osteen does a lot of that as well.
But the federal reserve really did it by letting interest rates remain low.
And as far as reason goes, I stand by my set theory answer.