(12/9/2005)

Which Retailers Have Been Naughty and Nice

CWA compiles list of pro-Christmas--and anti-Christmas--businesses

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Concerned Women for America (CWA) presents our first Christmas list showing which businesses are honoring the Reason for the Season (the birth of Jesus), which ones are not, and which have mixed records.

Macy's joins the NICE list because it has returned the explicit mention of Christmas and Merry Christmas to its stores and its ads. L.L. Bean, on the other hand, just barely escapes the Grinch list and gets a middle rating because, while its first seasonal catalog says Christmas 2005, all subsequent catalogs say Holiday 2005, culminating in the Best of Holiday 2005 (surrounded by Christmas items).

"More and more retailers are realizing, too late, that Christian consumers now understand that the constant use of 'happy holidays' and 'holiday' is grating and insulting," said Robert Knight, director of CWA's Culture & Family Institute. "It's an act of cultural cowardice and even an overt attack on Christmas and ultimately the Christian faith.

"When something is clearly about Christmas itself, it is dishonest to ban the very mention of Christmas on the grounds that it might offend a handful of people. This is a nation where surveys show 96 percent of the population celebrates Christmas. There is no survey showing that people of other faiths are insulted when the majority celebrate Christmas or wish anyone a 'Merry Christmas.'

"The tyranny of a tiny minority of Grinches to veto any mention of Christmas must stop," Knight concluded. "We are very encouraged that some major retailers like Macy's are starting to get it and hope that more will join them."

    NICE

Macy’s

Chick-fil-A

Kroger

IHOP

Saks Off Fifth Avenue

Kay Jewelers

Capital One

Hobby Lobby

In-N-Out Burger

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    SOMEWHAT NICE, SOMEWHAT NAUGHTY

Walgreens

Wal-Mart

L.L. Bean

Sears

Lowe’s

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    SCROOGES

Target

Office Max

Kmart

Staples

Home Depot

Best Buy

Kohl’s

BJ's

SC Johnson

Verizon

Radio Shack

Zales

Outback

Lexus

Old Navy

Cingular

Reckitt Benckiser

Pier 1

Red Lobster

Office Depot

Gillette

Applebee’s

Burlington Coat

Dell

Milton-Bradley

U.S. Postal Service

Costco