Walmart Facing Boycott over banning Christmas
Posted on November 10, 2005
Update: The Boycott’s over, with an apology.
Talk about the political correctness backlash: via WND
A Catholic advocacy group has launched a national boycott against Wal-Mart, claiming the world’s No. 1 retailer has in effect “banned” Christmas, while promoting other seasonal holidays such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.
But Wal-Mart tells WorldNetDaily it has “absolutely not” banned Christmas, but is just “trying to serve all our customers for the holiday season.”
According to the New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, the controversy was sparked when a woman recently complained to Wal-Mart that the store was replacing its “Merry Christmas” greeting with “Happy Holidays.”
The League says the woman received an e-mail response from a customer-service representative, reading exactly as follows:
Walmart is a world wide organization and must remain conscious of this. The majority of the world still has different practices other than “christmas” which is an ancient tradition that has its roots in Siberian shamanism. The colors associated with “christmas” red and white are actually a representation of of the aminita mascera mushroom. Santa is also borrowed from the Caucuses, mistletoe from the Celts, yule log from the Goths, the time from the Visigoth and the tree from the worship of Baal. It is a wide wide world.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue speculated the writer of that e-mail was perhaps drunk, so he sent the response to Dan Fogelman in Wal-Mart’s public-relations department.Donohue received back a response from Fogelman, who wrote in part:
As a retailer, we recognize some of our customers may be shopping for Chanukah or Kwanzaa gifts during this time of year and we certainly want these customers in our stores and to feel welcome, just as we do those buying for Christmas. As an employer, we recognize the significance of the Christmas holiday among our family of associates … and close our stores in observance, the only day during the year that we are closed.
“It’s nice to know that Wal-Mart is closed on a federal holiday,” explains Donohue, who says he’s asking the leaders of 126 religious organizations spanning seven religious communities to boycott the retail giant.He points out, and WND confirmed, that when using the company’s online search engine, if the world “Hanukkah” is entered, 200 items for sale are returned. The term “Kwanzaa” yields 77. But when “Christmas” is entered, the message returned says: “We’ve brought you to our ‘Holiday’ page based on your search.”
The war to secularize Christmas, and erase its true meaning has already started, and the ACLU haven’t even gotten involved yet.
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28 Responses to “Walmart Facing Boycott over banning Christmas”
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Syndicate Me
The easy way around this is to just say, “Feliz Navidad”.
That way you can scream hispanic bigotry if anyone winces.
11 10 05
Geesh! These commies are everywhere! If one can mention the other holidays, then it ain’t fair not to mention Christmas. If one doesn’t mention any holidays by name, then it would be fair. But we all know what’s up; they are trying to rid us of God and Christianity in our culture! And to be fair, Christmas is really on a pagan holiday, cuz Jesus wasn’t born in winter. Despite this technicality, the meaning of Christmas has stuck for centuries and it ain’t a good idea to rid ourselves of the concept. I hope those wackos rot in hell. Good post!
This absolutely infuriates me! Especially since I just made a post regarding Measure Q which failed to pass in Redlands.
Pointing out the historical roots of various aspects of Christmas traditions…heck, doesn’t that just go to show how “inclusive” Christmas really is, with all its diverse background?
The notion that you have to make others feel “welcomed” is just misguided. I understand that Wal-Mart is a business, but I think catering to the PC police and ACLU, and the militant secular extremists is bad for business. I’m not a Christian, but I like the Christmas Season, as is. It is an American tradition, and I participate in it, in my own fashion. I have no problems with the religiousness of it either.
This is a joke, right?
I’m just reporting what I found, I don’t think its a joke.
“The war to secularize Christmas, and erase its true meaning…”
In other words, you’re complaining that replacing the baldly sectarian “Merry Christmas” with the all-inclusive “Happy Holidays” (and Christmas is among those holidays, right?) is wrong on the basis of its obliterating the overtly religious aspects of Christmas? What do you want, nativity scenes? You do realize Wal-Mart is a retailer and not a church, right?
Besides, Christmas began as a pagan holiday, Saturnalia. I would argue the “true meaning of Christmas,” originally proferred, is blatantly sectarian.
Only a delusional would equate Wal-Mart changing its greeting with “banning” Christmas from its stores. Some people amaze me.
It is not a joke. Go to the mall and other stores especially Target and see how often you see Merry Christmas. This is a legal holiday given to christians to celebrate the birth of Jesus and to not observe it as Merry Christmas is outragious.
OOOOppppssss. The nick pickers might see that I spelled a word wrong, sorry!
Talk about misinformation. I almost choaked on my tea when I read, “Catholic League president Bill Donohue speculated the writer of that e-mail was perhaps drunk, so he sent the response to Dan Fogelman in Wal-Mart’s public-relations department.”
I wrote a piece about the Christ in Christmas. The two cannot be divorced even if you aren’t religious but do the stocking/presents thing. Santa is also borrowed from the Caucuses? Someone give Wal-Mart reps an education. Ever hear of a Roman Catholic Bishop in Myra, Turkey, in the 4th century called St. Nicholas?
http://dumbgirl.squarespace.com/blog/2005/2/22/christ-in-st-nick-st-nick-in-christmas.html
After reading this post I went over to world net daily and read their story. It burned me so bad that I went to http://www.walmart.com and got into their web site to send e mail to their corporate headquarters. I sent a strong message with out using profanity about my opinion. JAY WHY DONT YOU GET AS MANY PEOPLE TO E MAIL THEM AS POSSIBLE WITH THEIR COMMENTS.
Naturally, I had to go and do the search strings suggested and lo and behold – typing in “christmas” brought me to:
“Garden and Patio > Holiday”
What the …
I am thinking about going to walmart web site daily and try to aggravate their corporate headquarters. For instance I saw that they have Holiday Barbies. I am going to tell them if it is a Holiday Barbie why is it that the doll does not have red white and blue for the Holiday 4th of July. Would they in soom way list a Christmas Barbie that I could buy for my Granddaughter to give her for Christmas.
GRRRR how dare they act as though people with other religious beleifs have points of veiw equally valid to beleiving that a big invisible man in the sky blinked everything into existence >:( sheer madness, treating other religions as equal is bigotry
But they are not treating religions as equal. They are treating non-Christian religions as superior to Christianity. They have sections for Kwanza and Judaism, but the Christmas section has been replaced by a “holiday” section.
Do you get it, Kitsune? Or do you need more explanation?
Furthermore, Walmart got every single alleged pagan connection wrong. Siberian shamanism? Red and white symbolic of the amanita muscaria mushroom (which they couldn’t even spell)? Get real. Corporate PR people should not pretend to be scholars.
Btw, Christmas is not a pagan holiday. Christmas is a Christian holiday, with some customs that may have pagan or partly pagan origins. The Church has always engaged in acculturation, and so what? When we adopt a local custom and reinterpret it according to Christian belief, it is no longer pagan. It has been “baptized” so to speak.
As for Walmart… they have not banned the word “Christmas.” Barbie may be “holiday” but they still have Christmas trees and Christmas bouquets.
Fox is reporting this AM that the customer service rep. has been fired.
Apparently, the home office does not share his views.
I for one am glad that Wal-Mart had the guts to do this. I actually might start shopping there again. All you Christian nutballs need to deal with the fact that the store has shoppers and workers of many faiths that celebrate many holidays during the winter season.
Anyways, in sending them a comment yesterday about my gratitude for their decision, I received a return email from them stating that they have received an overwelming positive response from people about their decision. I think the boycott is a complete waste of time and energy.
Abel
Abel, you are an idiot that can not read the update posted above. The threat of the boycott was successful, so get lost.
I wish I could tell Abel what I thought but Jay would just delete it because I could not tell him as nice as Jay
First of all I agree that the Wal-Mart C.S.D. was wrong in editorializing the supposed Xmas origins. She should have stuck with the K.I.S.S. principle. She should not have been fired only warned about sending out such emails without dept. mgmt. clearance.
However, Seamus said: “Christmas is NOT a pagan holiday. Christmas is a CHRISTIAN holiday, with some customs that MAY have pagan or PARTLY pagan origins. The Church has always engaged in ACCULTURATION, and so what? When we adopt a local custom and reinterpret it according to CHRISTIAN belief, it is NO LONGER PAGAN.” {Emphasis added]
ROTFLMAO!!! [Game show buzzer!] IMO not correct Seamus! Everything you said was IMO based on “good” ol’ 4th century Emperor Constantine “The Great” (i.e. or should say “Catholic” – Latin for “universal”) revisionist biblical apostate dogma.
So now Wal-Mart is supposedly trying to be fair to all faiths in the interest of makin’ much money and you somehow believe that they are slighting “true” Christians in this effort? Well news flash, December 25th is NOT JC’s birthday hence NOT Christian! JC was born much earlier in the fall NOT the cold and rainy Israel winter. And his heavenly Father never told us to celebrate his birth only memorialize his sacrificial death. Emperor Constantine (“the church” as it were) did not “ACCULTURATE” the Roman pagan celebration of Saturnalia (Sun worship) into Christ’s birthday, he wholly EMBRACED it and indoctrinated it into the mainstream as he was a pagan himself along with his pagan occultist mother so-called Saint Helene! He is the true origin of the Catholic Church, which BTW is NOT synonymous with the word “Christian” as emperor “CON-man” the so-called “great” ADULTERATED early Christianity with many pagan customs for his own personal political gain. That’s apostasy! He did not convert to “Christianity” until the very last minute of his life – wow that’s real sainthood stuff – that. The Vatican will attest to all of this but tries to bury it as deep as it could in its archives. So hopefully you won’t look.
IMHO Wal-Mart was wrong to back down to the Catholic Church, but that’s Machivellian capitalism for ya’ Everything for the almighty dollar – IMO Wal-Mart’s true deity. Didn’t someone say in the Bible that the root to all evil is the LOVE of money?
Furthermore, how dare the Catholic Church climb on its high horse after what it has done in recent news and during WW2 in the name of their deity, simply labeled with the generic title “God”? His true and glorious name they wrongly do not use and refuse to use in favor of their pagan ancient Greek (i.e. Babylonian) triune (i.e. trinity) gods invented by Aristotle and adopted by Athanasius in the 4th century CE. Then Constantine forcibly shoves it down the collective throats of the Council of Nice in 325 CE making it Christendom’s folly today. Their hypocrisy disgusts all really true Christians today. Are the Catholic Church’s hands clean enough to criticize Wal-Mart? Has Wal-Mart wantonly molested children and diabolically aided and collaborated in the destruction of millions of “non-Catholics” in Nazi Germany in WW2?
OK Seamus (et al)… if I’m an idiot what does that make the person in your mirror?
The Apostle Paul warned: “In later times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1)
Wow. What great posts. I particularly love the last one. Christmas NOT really Christian! I always suspected something of the kind. But, seriously, folks, I have rarely seen such whining victimization among those with total power! Because surely, doesn’t the Christian Right run the country through their right-wing elected officials? OR, do they elect officials who promise that they will punish their enemies (such as those who say “happy holidays”), and are then betrayed? Well, I dunno. Up to you. Have fun with your boycott.
you are right demiurge…no politician is saving us from the leftwing crap. And we don’t have the power, the leftwing judges do.
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You have to be kidding me. Believe me, Christians have a place in the world. When I go to Barnes and Noble or Books a Million and look for religious books… there are walls dedicated to “Christian Teaching” and a teeny tiny little section awaits me for Judaism. The same goes for Walmarts book section. Christians are represented everywhere. I congratulate Walmart for being able to step back and say, “what the heck… let’s recognize all religions as equal and say Happy Holidays!” Everyone has the right to their own beliefs, and at least they recognize that and try to make EVERYONE feel welcome at once.
“Everyone” should feel welcomed in the holiday season. It is fair to say “HAPPY HOLIDAYS” rather “MERRY CHRISTMAS” it makes a lot of difference, because we are all different. It’s as simple as that! This “is” the land of muli-cultural isn’t it?
I thought so?
How soon we forget our American Heritage. God was in our schools and not watching children killing others or themselves. God blessed this Nation like no other Nation was ever blessed. Once we removed God (told him he was no longer needed in our younsters schoolyards just reflect on what has occurred. If you haven,t invited God you have shunned him so he will not grant you favors
FOr God’s sakes, they’re stores not churches. What could it possibly hurt you what they say in them?
You people do not know what you are talking about.I get so sick of everyone bashing Wal-mart when other companies have Happy Holidays on their ads.
I have been working for Wal-mart for 18 years and have never been told we cannot use the word Christmas or any other religious words.We have a Bible in our breakroom. I wear a cross on a chain around my neck.When we have our “Christmas” dinner at work,a blessing is said. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
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