Have you grown sick and tired of national retail chains bowing to the very small anti-Christmas minority?
If so, then take a good look at the list below, and use it to fight back when Christmas shopping!
The American Family Association and Liberty Council have each released their annual “Naughty-or-Nice” list that categorizes retailers and how they approach the Christmas season.
Some of the names that made the “nice” list are well known companies such as Walmart, JCPenney, Kmart, and Lowe’s. Others fell into a “marginal” list, meaning that they rarely or infrequently referred to Christmas.
The two organizations reviewed up to four areas to determine if a company was “Christmas-friendly” in their advertising: print media (newspaper inserts), broadcast media (radio/television), website and/or personal visits to the store. If a company’s ad has references to items associated with Christmas (trees, wreaths, lights, etc.), it was considered as an attempt to reach “Christmas” shoppers.
If a company has items associated with Christmas, but did not use the word “Christmas,” then the company is considered as censoring “Christmas.”
AFA continually updates the list, so check afa.net for updates. Want to report a company? Send your detailed report to christmas@afa.net.
AFA has also begun its “Keep Christ in Christmas” campaign. AFA President Tim Wildmon announced that his group is offering wristbands with messages about the battle against “secular liberals.” There are also yard signs and buttons featuring the “Merry Christmas” message available at www.afa.net
“You might ask why we think this is an important battle. Well, secular liberals in our nation are bent on minimizing and even removing any mention of Christianity from the public square. And no other time of the year reminds people of Jesus Christ and America’s Christian heritage more than the Christmas season,” Wildmon explained.
Liberty Counsel also monitors cases across the U.S. where there is intimidation by officials and groups to remove the celebration of Christmas in public and private spaces.
These threats include atheist groups seeking to ban nativity scenes from public property, senior living centers that prohibit residents from singing Christmas carols, public schools that ban students from wearing the Christmas colors of red and green, school officials who censor religious words from Christmas carols, and retailers which profit from Christmas while pretending it does not exist, according to the group’s statement.
Liberty Counsel provides a memorandum to offer guidance regarding publicly and privately sponsored religious holiday displays, religious holidays in public schools and the rights of public school students in the context of religious holidays. For example, publicly sponsored nativity scenes on public property are constitutional so long as there is a secular symbol of the holiday in the general context. Privately sponsored nativity scenes or religious symbols are also permissible on public property that has been opened to the general public for expressive activity. No secular symbol is necessary.
“Celebrating Christmas is legal in public schools and in public venues. In the private retail market, consumers can choose to patronize stores that recognize Christmas and refuse to buy from those that pretend it does not exist,” said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel.
More information is available at www.lc.org. You can also stay up to date and participate in the discussion by visiting the Liberty Council Facebook page.
2016 listing of top retailers and how they recognize Christmas
Companies in All CAPS and BOLD enthusiastically acknowledge Christmas
Companies FOR “Christmas”
Ace Hardware
Banana Republic
Barnes & Noble
Bass Pro Shops
Bath & Body Works
Bed Bath & Beyond
Belk
Big Lots
Books-A-Million
Bronner’s CHRISTmas
WONDERLAND
Cabella’s
Christmasplace.com
Cracker Barrel
Dillards
Dollar Tree
HSN.com
Hallmark
HOBBY LOBBY
Home Depot
Hy-Vee
JC Penney
JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts
Kmart
Kohl’s
Kirklands
Kroger
LOWE’S
L.L. Bean
Lehman’s
Macy’s
Marshall’s
Meijer
Menard’s
Michael’s Stores
Neiman Marcus
Pier One Imports
QVC.com
Rite Aid
Sam’s Club
Scheel’s Sporting Goods
Sears
Super D Drug
Toys R Us
True Value
WAL-MART
Zappos.com
Companies marginal on “Christmas”
Amazon.com
Best Buy
CVS Pharmacy
Dick’s Sporting Goods
Old Navy
Starbucks
TJ Maxx
Walgreens
Whole Foods
Companies AGAINST “Christmas”
Academy Sports
American Eagle
Outfitters
Barnes & Noble
Dollar General
Family Dollar
Foot Locker
Gap Stores
Limited Brands
Maurice’s
Nordstrom’s
Office Depot
Office Max
Petsmart
Radio Shack
Stein Mart
Victoria’s
Secret