MSNBC reports in a post titled In 'The War on Christmas,' Christmas is winning
"The War on Christmas may be in its final days.
This season, merry Christmas — not happy holidays or season's greetings — will dominate retailer's marketing messages. There will be Christmas sales and Christmas trees and Christmas carols galore.
That has the American Family Association, arguably one of the loudest voices advocating the use of Christmas in retailer's marketing messages over the past few years, predicting that its crusade could conclude in the next year or two.
Randy Sharp, director-special projects at the AFA, said that in the past five years the group has seen the percentage of retailers recognizing Christmas in their advertising rise from 20 percent to 80 percent. Just eight retailers are left on the group's list of "Companies Against Christmas."
...."We've had a complete flip," Mr. Sharp says. "The politically correct holiday verbiage is going away. Companies are getting the message."
Indeed, retailers that have found themselves the target of boycotts or media and consumer scrutiny have responded swiftly in recent years. Lowe's "Family Trees" were renamed "Christmas Trees," while Walmart's "Holiday Shop" is now a "Christmas Shop." Midway through the 2005 holiday season, Target, facing a boycott, announced its advertising messages would become more specific and include references to Christmas. And last year, Gap responded to a boycott by issuing a press release highlighting the use of the phrase "Merry Christmas" in its upcoming Old Navy ads.
....Plenty view the tactics of the AFA and other groups as bullying, but Mr. Sharp rejects that. "It's not bullying, it's consumer advocacy," he said. The AFA's stance is that retailers should not profit from Christmas, if they refuse to clearly acknowledge it. "When your advertising has trees and ornaments and gift wrapping, you're advertising Christmas, so don't call it holiday," Mr. Sharp said, adding that the group is not at all offended by Happy Hanukkah messages."
Found image of Merry Christmas .
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