Disney and Wal-Mart are among the major retailers who have chosen to begin acknowledging Christmas this year, after previously referring only to the “holidays” in their Christmas-season advertizing.

The Florida-based pro-life, Christian legal organization Liberty Counsel is continuing its annual “Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign” this year. Every year the organization compiles a ‘Naughty and Nice” list, which catalogs retailers who either censor (“naughty”) or recognize (“nice”) Christmas.

The list is compiled from information gathered by consumers and is updated whenever new information is received.

A look at this year’s list in comparison to last year’s reveals that the “nice” side is substantially longer than the “naughty” side, suggesting that the list is exerting a positive effect in motivating retailers to acknowledge Christmas.

“There was a time when Wal-Mart sold only ‘Holiday Trees,’ not Christmas Trees and when Wal-Mart employees were forbidden from returning the greeting ‘Merry Christmas’ to customers who initiated the greeting,” remarked Matthew D. Staver, founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law.

“But Wal-Mart, like many other retailers, has changed and now openly acknowledges Christmas.”

Other notable retailers that have switched to the “nice” list this year include Best Buy, whose current TV ad mentions Christmas four times in the 30 second slot; Dick’s Sporting Goods, who after three year’s of “naughty” status, made significant changes from their past ‘holiday’ theme; and AC Moore Arts & Crafts, whose website this year has over 575 “Christmas” items listed.

Very significantly, Disney.com has been transferred from last year’s “naughty” list. Their website home page this year opens with movie trailers from “A Christmas Carol” and “Santa Paws,” while a search for “Christmas” reveals a huge selection of DVDs that reference Christmas, as well as nostalgic Disney “Christmas” items.

Liberty Counsel encourages shoppers to print out the list and use it to decide which stores to patronize during the Christmas shopping season, and to let retailers know what you think about their advertising policies.

“Consumers can have a big impact this year by choosing to shop at stores that acknowledge Christmas. Retailers that profit from Christmas while pretending it does not exist will find that consumers will shop elsewhere,” Mr. Staver observed.
Consumers who wish to share their shopping experiences with Liberty Counsel can report the naughty and the nice by sending an email to [email protected].

The 2010 “Naughty and Nice” List of Retailers is available here. [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]

Source: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/from-naughty-to-nice-disney-wal-mart-now-recognize-christmas