Needs More Tinsel, Evangelicals Whine About Christmas

I am sick of people who obsessively study the Bible and quote it– yet they haven’t learned a damn thing from it.  Case in point, the evangelical whiners at Focus on The Family are waging their annual jihad about the “War on Christmas” and the encroachment of secularism with retailers.  They have set up a website to track which stores are being “naughty” by not calling this the Christmas season and which ones are “nice” by using the word Christmas and not settling for the more vague and liberal “Happy Holidays”.

If the true spirit of Christmas is about the birth of Christ, peace on Earth and avoiding commercialism, why are these people so hung up on what retailers are doing with their multi-million dollar marketing plans?

Millions upon millions in our nation deeply value the great truths of Christmas and the holiday’s inspiring place in American life and culture. We hope you will take a moment to “Stand for Christmas” by sharing feedback about your Christmas shopping experiences.

We’re asking YOU to decide which retailers are “Christmas-friendly.” They want your patronage and your gift-shopping dollars, but do they openly recognize Christmas?

Yes, I think all retailers recognize Christmas– its how they’ll make their fourth quarter budgets.  And to appeal to the widest consumer base possible they’ll use the words they think resonate with their “target” customer.

I’m not sure what parallel universe these people live in.  Somehow the economy, Afghanistan, and the health care debate are much less important than whether or not their local Lane Bryant or Old Navy stores are up to snuff.

They mostly complain that the stores don’t have specific Christmas decorations up or that the kid making minimum wage didn’t say “Merry Christmas” when they walked in the door.  Boo. Hoo. Call in an air stike against Crate & Barrel!! Here are actual complaints…

While I appreciate that C&B has a Christmas Ornament category on their website, I was disappointed by the clearly intentional omission of the word “Christmas” in an ornament description that said “… adds a wildlife touch to your holiday tree”. I love this store, but will buy elsewhere. I chose “negligent” to reflect that they both use and omit “Christmas”.

I checked their main Holiday Catalogue thoroughly. The only use of the word Christmas was for a set of 12 Days of Christmas ornaments. They appeared to go out of their way not to use the word. I chose to toss the catalogue in the trash for that reason.

So they will continue to fight their war against the semantics of the December holiday season.  Ignoring, the poor, the sick, and the weak– all those people Jesus talked about in the Bible.  Just how fragile and insecure are you that not hearing or reading the words, “Merry Christmas” at every store in the mall, freaks you out?

Me personally, when I worked in retail.  I always said Happy Holidays– because it was a catch all for the three Federal holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.  It feels stupid to say “Merry Christmas” on November 27th.  And I’m sorry, I’ve always bought into the melting pot theory of America from Schoolhouse Rock.  Who cares what its called, we’re all supposed to be of good freaking cheer this time of year.