November 9, 2006
Christmas is Back In for the Holidays
Among the Christian faithful, there is a phrase often used around this time of year: “Put the Christ back in Christmas.”
Retailers, according to a number of groups, have something to put back also. Stores, they say, need to put the Christmas back in the holidays.
This year, Wal-Mart and others are throwing out the inclusive “Happy Holidays” signs of past years and going with “Merry Christmas” instead.
“We, quite frankly, have learned a lesson from last year,” Wal-Mart spokesperson Linda Blakley told USA Today. “We’re not afraid to use the term ‘Merry Christmas.’ We’ll use it early, and we’ll use it often.”
Wal-Mart is serious about letting consumers know they will be Christmas shopping in its stores this year.
The retailer begins running commercial this week with Christmas prominently mentioned alongside savings in the spots.
In-store, signs will provide a countdown to Christmas, Christmas music will play through the PA system and Wal-Mart’s Holiday Shop section will become The Christmas Shop this year.
It’s also beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Macy’s. The chain will have “Merry Christmas” signs in all its departments and store windows will have Christmas themes. Macy’s store in New York’s Herald Square, for example, will have an “Oh, Christmas Tree” theme this year.
“Our intention is to make every customer feel welcomed and appreciated, whether they celebrate Christmas or other holidays,” said Jim Sluzewski, a Macy’s spokesperson.
Discussion Questions: What will using the word Christmas in ads, signage, etc. mean for retail businesses? Do stores promoting Christmas have an advantage
over those going the “Happy Holidays” route?
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Nice thought, and about time. But not all consumers celebrate Christmas.
Interestingly, there are too many variables that can’t be controlled, and measuring this Christmas message is one.
Some retailers already did their research a year ago and are marketing an ‘on-target’ message to the marketplace, and their loyal shoppers.
Santa says, “Planning and marketing are the best partners, for a happy Holiday Season.” Hmmmmmm
It never really went away, did it? Sure there was a bit of a fury about a few who chose to abstain from the use of the phrase, however, many that received the “happy holidays” accepted it and responded back in a cheerful “Merry Christmas.”
Certainly there is room for all. Yet, in many ways, the desire for tolerance had resulted in intolerance. That can’t be good for any one. What is good for everyone is respect and tolerance. Disregarding one (the majority) and recognizing the others was simply a ridiculous response to an issue that likely never existed in the first place.
I look forward to the sound of the bell ringers and all that goes with it. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all.
I think the best balance is to have both Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays in parallel, as Lord & Taylor is doing this year.
It is not just the “Christian right” (as per above) that is offended by Hanukah and Kwanzaa being placed in a more important light than Christmas, it is only reasonable. For example, Bed Bath & Beyond, at least in my market area, has a Happy Hanukkah gift card with a decidedly non-secular menorah on it, while there is not a Merry Christmas gift card to be seen. That is simply wrong, and is elevating one faith above another.
This is the first year in my memory that the Postal Service has had a “Christmas” stamp, referring to the religious imagery in past years as “Traditional Holiday” or “Madonna and Child.” Yet, they proudly offered “Hanukah,” “Kwanzaa,” and even “EID” stamps. That was just bizarre.
It’s nice to spread the goodwill and cheer of the Christmas season, but it is disrespectful to wipe it off the scene with “Holiday Trees,” “Great Trees,” and “Winter Festivals.”
Glad to see Christmas back. It’s not political, it’s a religious holiday that over 85% of Americans celebrate in some form and it’s wrong to ignore it or replace it with some sort of bland, generic all-encompassing “Happy Holidays” positioning to avoid the offense of a few.
I believe that after last year, the pointy-headed marketers figured out that the politically correct and in-vogue trend of trying to not offend resulted in the offence of the intended unoffended. Follow that?
Christmas exists and the majority of American consumers anticipate it, prepare for it, shop for gifts to share, and celebrate it on or around December 25th every year.
It’s clearly marked on the December calendar along with Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve. For those who don’t believe in any of it, fine, have a nice day. Similarly, those who aren’t into football will still be exposed to football themed promotions. It’s life.
Maybe marketers should work a little harder and market to the appropriate segments that celebrate each holiday versus assuming that one-flavor vanilla positioning covers all the bases.
Count Don Wildmon and the American Family Association among those who believe Christmas is under siege.
The messages below are taken from a page selling car magnets and buttons on the
AFA site.
“Now is the time to take a stand against those who want to take Christ out of Christmas, who want to turn ‘Merry Christmas’ into ‘Happy Holidays.’ Display this eye catching car magnet proudly! ‘Merry Christmas. It’s worth saying.’”
“Make a statement as you shop this Christmas. Proudly wear this button to let store clerks and managers know that instead of ‘Happy Holidays’ you say, ‘Merry Christmas, it’s worth saying.’”
All of us are “minorities” in one way or another, and it is second nature to adapt to and respect the majority. And no, we can’t expect the majority to always be sensitive to our needs and interests. Legally tolerant, yes! Sensitive, occasionally. As our own minority group grows it will have more influence and cut a wider swath in society.
I didn’t see a single comment above with which I was in strong disagreement – a rarity for me. :>) Now THAT’s the spirit of Christmas!
Christmas went beyond being a religious holiday a very long time ago. Some may still celebrate its origins but many (most likely more) celebrate it as a customary time to get together with friends and family, eat and drink way too much, make merry and have lots of gifts to open. In that spirit, I think it’s hard to find objections unless one is totally intolerant of both those who believe and those who don’t.
“Happy holidays” may not turn anyone on, but it does communicate a certain respect to those of us who do not celebrate Christmas.
Jewish kids like me growing up in public schools were forced to sing Christmas carols, forced to say prayers celebrating the divine birth of Christ, something that is against our beliefs. It was nice to see that America finally was coming around to acknowledge those of us who are not Christians. And making a 360 degree turn has got to feel like a slap in the face to millions of people.
It’s not that non-Christians are anti-Christmas, and I certainly can’t pretend to speak for anyone but myself. But being included in the festivities was kind of nice. Call me overly sensitive, or call me worse, but I don’t like where the “Put the Christ in Christmas” people are coming from. I think I’ll stay away from Wal-Mart this Christmas.
Or one can have a little fun with all the holiday correctness like Virgin Mobile has done the past couple of years with its Happy ChristmaHanuKwanzaa campaign … very merry.
It’s hard to be objective about this because taking Christmas out of the season was a ridiculous initiative. Even though there is no way to effectively measure sales results either way, there still is a negative effect by removing Christmas. Removing it was trying to erase or cover up a seasonal institution while treading on people’s religious beliefs. Blakely’s words, “We, quite frankly, have learned a lesson from last year,” tell the tale of a retailer ready to make amends.
Last year’s initiative took politically correct over the top and Ben Ball is correct in saying the pendulum has swung back in the other direction.
I really did not want to see in-store signage proclaiming “Happy Christmakwanzahanukkah!!!”
I have to vote with the, “We can’t measure and wording alone will not change December sales anyway” viewpoints. Whether a store is selling a crèche, Santa, Grinch, iPod or Elmo, if they are buying it for Christmas, then that’s what we should call it. Retailers have carried Chanukah and Kwanzaa greeting cards and gifts when the demographics indicated it without controversy for years. For my social note, Ben has my hope for a pendulum swing to a more tolerant approach and less of “those not for me must be against me.” Hopefully that includes room for a peaceful coexistence between Christmas traditions of: cookies for the jolly fat guy and/or midnight church services, and/or overdosing on shopping. Hopefully there is room for all, (key word follows), celebrations.
Using the word “Christmas” neither helps nor hurts sales measurably. The key is public relations positioning to be as inclusive as possible. It’s impossible to avoid offending someone, whether you list every religion’s holiday or do the opposite. Luckily, every retailer has the same problem. The people whose goal is to find something offensive will always succeed. But they have no measurable sales impact.
For a lot of us, even lapsed Christian agnostics like me, there’ll be something nice about it being okay, again, to say “Merry Christmas.” So long as the Christian right-wing doesn’t go overboard, it’d also be fine to have people thinking more about the extraordinary life of Jesus. I don’t worry too much about that, though, since the obsession at Christian holiday times generally seems more focused on a fat guy in a red suit, and a bunny passing out candy. This reintroduction of “Merry Christmas” should have little effect on spending, except for perhaps a few Christians (and lapsed Christians) who get more warm fuzziness inside (possible) and feel a bit more generous at Christmas-time. I have friends of other religious persuasions who will find this annoying, no doubt, but hey, it’s mass marketing, right?
Retailers found that “Happy Holidays” might offend no one, but it also doesn’t particularly attract anyone. The vast majority of Americans still have some affinity to “Christmas” in either a religious or a secular sense. So if you are going to try to attract someone, it might as well be the majority.
On a more socially oriented note, I also sense that the country is becoming more tolerant of everyone being able to express their preferences in these situations. The pendulum swing may have maxed out on “you can’t say that because it’s not MY way” to “let’s just let everyone say what they want and not marginalize anyone’s preferences” –(including the “majority”). A return to civility in the nation’s discourse? It’s a thought….
I’m with Stephan. I don’t know how you quantify this one. The “Happy Holidays” phrase is politically correct but a bit off putting. How disingenuous can you get? One really isn’t celebrating “the holidays.” In fact hardly anyone (with the exception of retailers) celebrates “the holidays.” One is celebrating Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa or whatever. I don’t know about the “put Christ back in Christmas” argument. If you’re so devout that the phrase “Happy Holidays” really bothers you, maybe you’re too devout to lose the meaning of the day in a blizzard of mind-numbing materialism. But seriously, did anybody think Santa Claus was all over the stores because of “holiday”? We’ve dumbed down the holidays taking the meaning out of Chanukah, Christmas and whatever — transforming the end of December into a great retail commercial killing field which consumers have to cross via the Baton Death March of Over Consumption. If you aren’t celebrating something specific why are you knocking senior citizens to the floor and ripping that Tickle Me Elmo doll from their hands? If there isn’t a reason for the season (whatever the season means to you or whichever season you’re celebrating) why line up like lemmings the day after Christmas (er…sorry…Holiday) and buy all those “discounted” goods? Back to the question, will it help or hurt? By this time the sheep are so used to the stampede, it’s likely they won’t even notice.
The most ridiculous experience I had last year was buying a Christmas tree at a retailer and the packaging didn’t even mention Christmas. Sometimes – many times – the politically correct thing just goes too far.
Ben Ball hit the nail on the head. Christmas is about sharing, kindness and love so a return to civility, as Ben puts it, is certainly appropriate.
As Ben mentions, Christmas has both a secular/festive and religious meaning for most Americans. I personally warmly welcome back “Christmas” this holiday season and look forward to hearing the bells of the Salvation Army ringing in front of each Wal-Mart store.
Retailers have a dilemma. There is no mass market with a homogeneous set of beliefs. Using “Happy Holidays” can be offensive to the Christian right. Using “Merry Christmas” can be offensive to non-Christians. There is no “right” answer. Every retailer and organization will choose for itself based upon its consumer and/or constituency and use the terms they find most appropriate. Hopefully we are becoming more tolerant, as an earlier responder said, and understanding that different retailers and/or organizations will make different choices.
I don’t have a problem with stores saying “Merry Christmas.” However, I do have a problem with stores acquiescing to the divisive, trumped up charge that there is a “war on Christmas,” which has been propagated by various political/media organizations and individuals over the last two seasons. I think that’s exactly what’s going on here and, in that sense, Wal-Mart and Macy’s are making a political statement rather than expressing a genuine sentiment.
In any case, I’d be curious to see if saying “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays” sells more products. If it does, then I’d expect every retailer in the country to make the switch.
Is this pandering to the Christian right or is it trying to increase sales? If this year we see Xmas sales increase more than in years past at Wal-Mart, then it is a great marketing success. If not, then why change?
Maybe the signs could be Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays…why not? Wouldn’t that cover both? Will Wal-Mart only offer Xmas wrapping paper? Are they doing away with Hanukah paper?
Putting the Christ back in Christmas refers to a feeling, a holiness, a spirit of helping and kindness. It does not, much to the chagrin of the retail community, mean buy more presents.
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Nice thought, and about time. But not all consumers celebrate Christmas.
Interestingly, there are too many variables that can’t be controlled, and measuring this Christmas message is one.
Some retailers already did their research a year ago and are marketing an ‘on-target’ message to the marketplace, and their loyal shoppers.
Santa says, “Planning and marketing are the best partners, for a happy Holiday Season.” Hmmmmmm
It never really went away, did it? Sure there was a bit of a fury about a few who chose to abstain from the use of the phrase, however, many that received the “happy holidays” accepted it and responded back in a cheerful “Merry Christmas.”
Certainly there is room for all. Yet, in many ways, the desire for tolerance had resulted in intolerance. That can’t be good for any one. What is good for everyone is respect and tolerance. Disregarding one (the majority) and recognizing the others was simply a ridiculous response to an issue that likely never existed in the first place.
I look forward to the sound of the bell ringers and all that goes with it. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all.
I think the best balance is to have both Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays in parallel, as Lord & Taylor is doing this year.
It is not just the “Christian right” (as per above) that is offended by Hanukah and Kwanzaa being placed in a more important light than Christmas, it is only reasonable. For example, Bed Bath & Beyond, at least in my market area, has a Happy Hanukkah gift card with a decidedly non-secular menorah on it, while there is not a Merry Christmas gift card to be seen. That is simply wrong, and is elevating one faith above another.
This is the first year in my memory that the Postal Service has had a “Christmas” stamp, referring to the religious imagery in past years as “Traditional Holiday” or “Madonna and Child.” Yet, they proudly offered “Hanukah,” “Kwanzaa,” and even “EID” stamps. That was just bizarre.
It’s nice to spread the goodwill and cheer of the Christmas season, but it is disrespectful to wipe it off the scene with “Holiday Trees,” “Great Trees,” and “Winter Festivals.”
Glad to see Christmas back. It’s not political, it’s a religious holiday that over 85% of Americans celebrate in some form and it’s wrong to ignore it or replace it with some sort of bland, generic all-encompassing “Happy Holidays” positioning to avoid the offense of a few.
I believe that after last year, the pointy-headed marketers figured out that the politically correct and in-vogue trend of trying to not offend resulted in the offence of the intended unoffended. Follow that?
Christmas exists and the majority of American consumers anticipate it, prepare for it, shop for gifts to share, and celebrate it on or around December 25th every year.
It’s clearly marked on the December calendar along with Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve. For those who don’t believe in any of it, fine, have a nice day. Similarly, those who aren’t into football will still be exposed to football themed promotions. It’s life.
Maybe marketers should work a little harder and market to the appropriate segments that celebrate each holiday versus assuming that one-flavor vanilla positioning covers all the bases.
Count Don Wildmon and the American Family Association among those who believe Christmas is under siege.
The messages below are taken from a page selling car magnets and buttons on the
AFA site.
“Now is the time to take a stand against those who want to take Christ out of Christmas, who want to turn ‘Merry Christmas’ into ‘Happy Holidays.’ Display this eye catching car magnet proudly! ‘Merry Christmas. It’s worth saying.’”
“Make a statement as you shop this Christmas. Proudly wear this button to let store clerks and managers know that instead of ‘Happy Holidays’ you say, ‘Merry Christmas, it’s worth saying.’”
All of us are “minorities” in one way or another, and it is second nature to adapt to and respect the majority. And no, we can’t expect the majority to always be sensitive to our needs and interests. Legally tolerant, yes! Sensitive, occasionally. As our own minority group grows it will have more influence and cut a wider swath in society.
I didn’t see a single comment above with which I was in strong disagreement – a rarity for me. :>) Now THAT’s the spirit of Christmas!
Christmas went beyond being a religious holiday a very long time ago. Some may still celebrate its origins but many (most likely more) celebrate it as a customary time to get together with friends and family, eat and drink way too much, make merry and have lots of gifts to open. In that spirit, I think it’s hard to find objections unless one is totally intolerant of both those who believe and those who don’t.
“Happy holidays” may not turn anyone on, but it does communicate a certain respect to those of us who do not celebrate Christmas.
Jewish kids like me growing up in public schools were forced to sing Christmas carols, forced to say prayers celebrating the divine birth of Christ, something that is against our beliefs. It was nice to see that America finally was coming around to acknowledge those of us who are not Christians. And making a 360 degree turn has got to feel like a slap in the face to millions of people.
It’s not that non-Christians are anti-Christmas, and I certainly can’t pretend to speak for anyone but myself. But being included in the festivities was kind of nice. Call me overly sensitive, or call me worse, but I don’t like where the “Put the Christ in Christmas” people are coming from. I think I’ll stay away from Wal-Mart this Christmas.
Or one can have a little fun with all the holiday correctness like Virgin Mobile has done the past couple of years with its Happy ChristmaHanuKwanzaa campaign … very merry.
It’s hard to be objective about this because taking Christmas out of the season was a ridiculous initiative. Even though there is no way to effectively measure sales results either way, there still is a negative effect by removing Christmas. Removing it was trying to erase or cover up a seasonal institution while treading on people’s religious beliefs. Blakely’s words, “We, quite frankly, have learned a lesson from last year,” tell the tale of a retailer ready to make amends.
Last year’s initiative took politically correct over the top and Ben Ball is correct in saying the pendulum has swung back in the other direction.
I really did not want to see in-store signage proclaiming “Happy Christmakwanzahanukkah!!!”
I have to vote with the, “We can’t measure and wording alone will not change December sales anyway” viewpoints. Whether a store is selling a crèche, Santa, Grinch, iPod or Elmo, if they are buying it for Christmas, then that’s what we should call it. Retailers have carried Chanukah and Kwanzaa greeting cards and gifts when the demographics indicated it without controversy for years. For my social note, Ben has my hope for a pendulum swing to a more tolerant approach and less of “those not for me must be against me.” Hopefully that includes room for a peaceful coexistence between Christmas traditions of: cookies for the jolly fat guy and/or midnight church services, and/or overdosing on shopping. Hopefully there is room for all, (key word follows), celebrations.
Using the word “Christmas” neither helps nor hurts sales measurably. The key is public relations positioning to be as inclusive as possible. It’s impossible to avoid offending someone, whether you list every religion’s holiday or do the opposite. Luckily, every retailer has the same problem. The people whose goal is to find something offensive will always succeed. But they have no measurable sales impact.
For a lot of us, even lapsed Christian agnostics like me, there’ll be something nice about it being okay, again, to say “Merry Christmas.” So long as the Christian right-wing doesn’t go overboard, it’d also be fine to have people thinking more about the extraordinary life of Jesus. I don’t worry too much about that, though, since the obsession at Christian holiday times generally seems more focused on a fat guy in a red suit, and a bunny passing out candy. This reintroduction of “Merry Christmas” should have little effect on spending, except for perhaps a few Christians (and lapsed Christians) who get more warm fuzziness inside (possible) and feel a bit more generous at Christmas-time. I have friends of other religious persuasions who will find this annoying, no doubt, but hey, it’s mass marketing, right?
Retailers found that “Happy Holidays” might offend no one, but it also doesn’t particularly attract anyone. The vast majority of Americans still have some affinity to “Christmas” in either a religious or a secular sense. So if you are going to try to attract someone, it might as well be the majority.
On a more socially oriented note, I also sense that the country is becoming more tolerant of everyone being able to express their preferences in these situations. The pendulum swing may have maxed out on “you can’t say that because it’s not MY way” to “let’s just let everyone say what they want and not marginalize anyone’s preferences” –(including the “majority”). A return to civility in the nation’s discourse? It’s a thought….
I’m with Stephan. I don’t know how you quantify this one. The “Happy Holidays” phrase is politically correct but a bit off putting. How disingenuous can you get? One really isn’t celebrating “the holidays.” In fact hardly anyone (with the exception of retailers) celebrates “the holidays.” One is celebrating Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa or whatever. I don’t know about the “put Christ back in Christmas” argument. If you’re so devout that the phrase “Happy Holidays” really bothers you, maybe you’re too devout to lose the meaning of the day in a blizzard of mind-numbing materialism. But seriously, did anybody think Santa Claus was all over the stores because of “holiday”? We’ve dumbed down the holidays taking the meaning out of Chanukah, Christmas and whatever — transforming the end of December into a great retail commercial killing field which consumers have to cross via the Baton Death March of Over Consumption. If you aren’t celebrating something specific why are you knocking senior citizens to the floor and ripping that Tickle Me Elmo doll from their hands? If there isn’t a reason for the season (whatever the season means to you or whichever season you’re celebrating) why line up like lemmings the day after Christmas (er…sorry…Holiday) and buy all those “discounted” goods? Back to the question, will it help or hurt? By this time the sheep are so used to the stampede, it’s likely they won’t even notice.
The most ridiculous experience I had last year was buying a Christmas tree at a retailer and the packaging didn’t even mention Christmas. Sometimes – many times – the politically correct thing just goes too far.
Ben Ball hit the nail on the head. Christmas is about sharing, kindness and love so a return to civility, as Ben puts it, is certainly appropriate.
As Ben mentions, Christmas has both a secular/festive and religious meaning for most Americans. I personally warmly welcome back “Christmas” this holiday season and look forward to hearing the bells of the Salvation Army ringing in front of each Wal-Mart store.
Retailers have a dilemma. There is no mass market with a homogeneous set of beliefs. Using “Happy Holidays” can be offensive to the Christian right. Using “Merry Christmas” can be offensive to non-Christians. There is no “right” answer. Every retailer and organization will choose for itself based upon its consumer and/or constituency and use the terms they find most appropriate. Hopefully we are becoming more tolerant, as an earlier responder said, and understanding that different retailers and/or organizations will make different choices.
I don’t have a problem with stores saying “Merry Christmas.” However, I do have a problem with stores acquiescing to the divisive, trumped up charge that there is a “war on Christmas,” which has been propagated by various political/media organizations and individuals over the last two seasons. I think that’s exactly what’s going on here and, in that sense, Wal-Mart and Macy’s are making a political statement rather than expressing a genuine sentiment.
In any case, I’d be curious to see if saying “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays” sells more products. If it does, then I’d expect every retailer in the country to make the switch.
Is this pandering to the Christian right or is it trying to increase sales? If this year we see Xmas sales increase more than in years past at Wal-Mart, then it is a great marketing success. If not, then why change?
Maybe the signs could be Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays…why not? Wouldn’t that cover both? Will Wal-Mart only offer Xmas wrapping paper? Are they doing away with Hanukah paper?
Putting the Christ back in Christmas refers to a feeling, a holiness, a spirit of helping and kindness. It does not, much to the chagrin of the retail community, mean buy more presents.