Christmas and Hanukkah are coming. Federated Department Stores again is planning to profit big time from them. But NOT to wish shoppers "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Hanukkah," of course. Lest secular extremists take offense.

I repeat the call I made last year for all people who are in a position to do so to boycott Federated Department Stores. There are other places to shop that are NOT determined to drive religion from the public square. Even religious-friendly stores!

The Supremes DO pay attention to the people, occasionally.  If more people had boycotted Federated Department Stores last year, perhaps the Supremes would not have banned Ten Commandments displays in Kentucky courthouses this year, 5 to 4.  And if more people don't boycott Federated Department Stores this year, perhaps the Supremes will strike "under God" from "The Pledge of Allegiance" next year.

The solution to Federated Department Stores replacing the words "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Hanukkah" with "Happy Holidays" in order to further secularize America is simple: shop at religious-friendly stores instead of a store that is hostile to religion.

“Merry Christmas” is a joyous greeting referencing a national holiday.  And "Happy Hanukkah" is a joyous greeting too.

Federated Department Stores is treating them like vulgar racial epithets

About 85% of Americans identify themselves as Christians and Jews. But Federated Department Stores claims that those joyous greetings will offend others, so it removed them from its advertising, decorations and promotional materials.

Federal remains exquisitively sensitive to their supposed sensitivity of non-Christians and non-Jews, and obstinately oblivious to the sensibilities of Christian and Jewish believers..

As usual, Federated is banking on the natural tolerance and passivity of practicing Christians and Jews to keep the price it will pay for pandering to secular extremism below the price of using the expressions “Merry Christmas” and "Happy Hanukkah."

“Banking” is the right word for a business obsessed with its bottom line.

And Federated’s bottom line remains its Achilles heel.

If enough people take their business to “Merry Christmas”- and "Happy Hanukkah"-friendly merchants, Federated will quickly recalculate and end the ban or suffer the wrath of its shareholders of whatever religious attitude.

With secularist extremists’ intent on removing “God” from "The Pledge of Allegiance" and America's currency and any reference to God or religion from the public square, it behooves Christians and Jews and those respectful of their sensibilities to take their business to merchants who are not antagonistic to religious Christians and Jews.

Manuel Zamarrano was incensed. 

So incensed that he formed the Committee to Save Merry Christmas to protest what he calls a “covert and deceptive war” led mostly by large retailers.

The Committee’s stated goal is “to preserve the culture and tradition of the vast majority of Americans that celebrate and honor Christmas…. a nationally declared federal holiday that has been observed from the inception of our nation.” 

The Committee deems the “intentional and deliberate exclusion of ‘Merry Christmas' in the Federated Department Stores advertising and decorations… extremely offensive to the culture and tradition of Americans who honor and celebrate Christmas.”

In the Committee’s words:  “Each Christmas season, every kind of decoration, advertising gimmick and sales promotion is hoisted upon the general public by Federated Department Stores directing the public to purchase their merchandise for the Christmas celebration...all the while never mentioning the word, ‘Christmas.’ This deliberate and intentional exclusion of ‘Merry Christmas’ by Federated Department Stores with substitute un-celebratory phases is thoughtless, condescending and hurtful.”

Therefore, the Committee asks this question:  “Should you--the purchasing public--who honors the American tradition and culture of Christmas, continue to purchase Christmas gifts from Federated Department Stores when they deliberately and intentionally refuse to acknowledge Christmas?”

The Committee’s answer is no, of course.

And the Committee tellingly emphasizes that while Federal Department Stores banned “Merry Christmas,” it “did not hesitate to advertise ‘After Christmas Sales’ because Federated Department Stores are very willing to use the word ‘Christmas’ when it suits their needs.”

The Committee wrote to  the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors of Federated in an attempt to negotiate a solution.

Federated remained silent.

The Committee then launched a nationwide boycott of Federated stores.

Federated issued a statement in response to the boycott. 

According to Federated, “phrases like ‘Season’s Greetings’ and ‘Happy Holidays’ embrace all religious and ethnic celebrations that take place in November and December and are more appropriate for the many diverse cultures in America today.”

It would behoove Federated to agree to say “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Hanukah” as well as “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings.”

Federated should check with PepsiCo as to what can happen when Christians are offended.

PepsiCo should tell Federated that Rene Henry Gracida, now Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi, Texas, put an end to PepsiCo’s shocking national advertising campaign based on the Madonna Like a Prayer video by starting a boycott in his diocese.

PepsiCo folded like a house of cards.

Understandably, Bishop Gracida was upset that PepsiCo had aired a commercial featuring pop music star Madonna and her song 'Like A Prayer,' doing things that he said were sacrilegious on a church altar.

Bishop Gracida got the attention of both PepsiCo and national media with his Diocese-wide boycott of all of PepsiCo’s products, including FritoLay.

PepsiCo’s vending machines were no longer welcomed in the buildings of the Corpus Christi Diocese.

Bishop Gracida wrote to PepsiCo’s area distributor and asked him to remove the machines, but didn't get a response.

Much like the Committee writing to Federated.

So Bishop Gracida publicly called for all Catholics in the Corpus Christi Diocese not to purchase any PepsiCo products.

"Almost immediately” Bishop Gracida “got a call from the Texas distributor then the corporate office in New York called [him] and asked what it would take to get [him] to call it off.”

In the words of Bishop Gracida: "When you throw a pebble in the middle of a pond it makes little ripples that work their way out.  Eventually they reach the shore and little by little they change the world around them."

Mr. Zamarrano and his Committee may have rolled a snowball down a snow-covered hill toward Federated.

And this year mighty eBay bowed to a boycott for which I first called, after eBay treated a consecrated Communion wafer as a marketable commodity (http://www.boycottebay.org/).  In great part due to Fox Cable's Neil Cavuto immediately publicizing my boycott call on his television program (http://www.boycottebay.org/reports.html).

Repent, Federated, instead of slavishly following the secular extremist policy.

The Federated chains include:

Bloomingdale's

Bon-Macy's

Burdine's-Macy's

Goldsmith's-Macy's

Lazarus-Macy's

Macy's East

Macy's West

Macy's Home Store

Rich's Macy's

The Chairman/CEO/President of Federated is Terry Lundgren.

His contact information is:

Phone: 513-579-7000
Toll Free: 800-261-5385

Let Mr. Lundgren know your opinion.