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Welcome to the blog of Connor Boyack, a 20-something husband, web designer, Latter-day Saint, constitutionalist, paleocon, classical liberal, preparedness practitioner, budding philanthropist, and master's student of political economy. I'm from Poway, CA but live in Happy Valley.


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Christmahanukwanzadan and Consumerism

Posted by Connor on November 22nd, 2006

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Christmas

The Rocky Mountain News has an article titled “Christmas’ Return to Stores” which talks about Wal-Mart, Target, and other leading retail chains returning to a “Merry Christmas” branding during the holiday season.

After an uproar in recent years from Christian Consumers, several retail chains have felt the push and decided to return to using such a slogan instead of the religion-neutral “Happy Holidays”, or as I read somewhere recently (and have since adopted to poke fun at the secularists’ dream of a politically-correct holiday season), “Christmahanukwanzadan”.

The return of the Christmas spirit: Wal-Mart on Thursday unrolled its holiday retail plans, and it is all about Christmas. It’s a far cry from a year ago when religious and other groups boycotted retailers for downplaying the holiday in favor of the more politically correct generic holiday season.

The trend has caught on: Macy’s plans to have “Merry Christmas” signs in all departments, and all window displays will have Christmas themes. Target is on board, too. Goodbye “holiday music” from last year, and welcome “Christmas music.”

I have no problem with stores offering decorations and gifts for other holidays such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa—but watering down the Christmas holiday season so as not to “offend” those of other faiths is plain retarded. I don’t need a store to say “Merry Christmas” anymore than I need a Catholic priest to recognize the Book of Mormon as the word of God—neither affect my own faith and belief system. I couldn’t care less if the advertising and promotional items and products of a given store is focused towards Christmas or not. What I do care about is the neutralization of all things religious in our society, and the Fahrenheit-451-like dumbing down of anything that takes a moral or religious stance so as not to offend the diverse minority in society. Political correctness is absurd!

If somebody says Happy Hanukkah to me, I won’t be offended. If a store decides to advertise for the holiday and carry Jewish items, I’m not going to throw a hissy fit. Same with Kwanzaa and any other religious holiday. But removing all mention of Christmas so as not to offend a small minority of people is detrimental to their own business because by catering to the minority they are upsetting the majority.

The JBS comments on this news article, also pointing out the following:

In a related matter, residents of the city of Milwaukee will have a public Christmas tree for the first time since 1995. Beginning in that year, the city began calling its municipal tree a “holiday tree” presumably because that designation was more “inclusive.” This despite the obvious insult to Christians whose holy day the tree was erected to celebrate. Milwaukee aldermen Jim Bohl and Terry Witkowski were instrumental in getting the Milwaukee Common Council to give the tree its appropriate designation. “If we don’t have the fortitude to call the city’s Christmas tree what it is, then what do we have the fortitude to address as far as city issues?” Bohl told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

It is singularly appropriate that this occurred in Milwaukee, the most German of all major U.S. cities, for it is from Germany that we get the Christmas tree tradition.

Converting traditional Christmas symbols (which usually don’t even have anything to do with Christ… but I digress) into neutered “holiday” symbols is a secularist push to be “sensitive”, “tolerant”, and “inclusive” that I find disturbing and ludicrous.

Possibly related posts:

4 comments so far. Care to chime in?

The retail frenzy that has come to be known as the Christmas season has nothing to do with religion.

#1 Naiah Earhart on November 22nd, 2006

Private institutions putting “Merry Christmas” on their front door is very different than the same banner on the steps of the Capitol Building.

Isn’t political correctness something that only public sector groups need to worry about? I think talking about it in a private context doesn’t make much sense.

Do you feel it is useless even in a public setting?

#2 John Anderson on November 22nd, 2006

The retail frenzy that has come to be known as the Christmas season has nothing to do with religion.

Truer words have never been spoken, Naiah.

Private institutions putting “Merry Christmas” on their front door is very different than the same banner on the steps of the Capitol Building.

Agreed. But both actions stem from a similar mentality, though each has different ramifications.

Isn’t political correctness something that only public sector groups need to worry about? I think talking about it in a private context doesn’t make much sense.

What do you mean ‘public sector’? In my mind I see political correctness potentially coming into play with any organization that is public-facing. Businesses are termed as being in the “private sector”, but they still very much deal with the public, and hence have to tiptoe around certain issues as well so as not to offend or upset their patrons, right?

Do you feel it is useless even in a public setting?

I’m not arguing that it’s useless—I understand that PC has a “use”. I just think that use has been blown severely out of proportion and that the loud minority these days often dictates when happens in relation to the quiet majority. I understand the principle behind being PC (not offending anybody, catering to a diverse group, etc.) but I think it does far more harm than good in the long run. My 2¢.

#3 Connor on November 22nd, 2006

Or maybe the whole “neutrality” stance on the Holiday Season wasn’t good for sales. Let’s face it, christmas sells!!

#4 Bob on November 30th, 2006

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