Wal-Mart worker 'history' after 'origin' of Christmas

WND ^

[News Hunter]

"We at Wal-Mart believe this e-mail between a temporary associate and one of our valued customers was entirely inappropriate. Its contents in no way represent the policies, practices or views of our company. This associate, who was hired less than three weeks ago, is no longer employed by our company."

[adamsjas]

"Stewart's remark is flatulent," Donohue says.

I like this guy Donohue, whoever he is. ;-)

[weegee]

Have to laff at the freepers who said this was another radical Christian conspiracy theory to forward on a bogus boycott.

There is a culture war afoot.

Squeaky wheel gets the grease.

There are bigoted employees at work at many companies. While they may not speak with the company in mind they DO speak for the company.

Target has faced the same idiotic behavior.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Fired or quit?

This downgrades the situation from alarming to just irritating.

A fair solution: each 'holiday' should bring up a search for just that holiday, as well as a "click here for all holidays" link.

[Marlin4570]

Why does this story surprise anyone? I know there are some on here that loooove Walmart but my wife has been at Sam's Club since 1989 and I could share stories that would make you puke..Sam's ended its Christmas Parties 3 years ago because a Muslim complained so company wide they banned any Christmas Parties for Employee's..Companies don't mind making a buck off this Countries Christian roots they just don't want to honor its roots.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Have to laff at the freepers who said this was another radical Christian conspiracy theory to forward on a bogus boycott.

It was amazing to read those posts which ran 10 to one in favor of the e-mail being a hoax.

People vastly underestimate the enemy.

[NYer]

Wal-Mart officials are standing by their policy of encouraging employees to use the "Happy Holidays" greeting rather than "Merry Christmas," but says the worker responsible for an e-mail describing the pagan origins of Christmas no longer works for the company.

"Wal-Mart is proud to welcome customers of all faiths, and celebrants of all holidays," Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Fogleman said in a bulk response e-mail to WorldNetDaily's original story. "We sincerely apologize to any person or organization that was offended by the inappropriate and inflammatory comments made by this former associate."

As WND reported, Wal-Mart is facing a national boycott organized by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights which says the merchandising giant is discriminating against Christians while promoting other seasonal holidays by name, such as Kwanzaa and Hanukkah.

"I've been doing nothing but interviews on talk radio (with more scheduled) and everyone is citing your article," Catholic League president Bill Donohue told WND. "Conservatives are fired up because they feel betrayed. Look for us to win."

The controversy was sparked when a woman recently complained to Wal-Mart that the store was replacing its "Merry Christmas" greeting with "Happy Holidays."

The League says the woman received an e-mail response from a customer-service representative named Kirby, reading exactly as follows:

Walmart is a world wide organization and must remain conscious of this. The majority of the world still has different practices other than "christmas" which is an ancient tradition that has its roots in Siberian shamanism. The colors associated with "christmas" red and white are actually a representation of of the aminita mascera mushroom. Santa is also borrowed from the Caucuses, mistletoe from the Celts, yule log from the Goths, the time from the Visigoth and the tree from the worship of Baal. It is a wide wide world.

Fogleman confirmed the original note was written by a Wal-Mart representative, and explained today:

"We at Wal-Mart believe this e-mail between a temporary associate and one of our valued customers was entirely inappropriate. Its contents in no way represent the policies, practices or views of our company. This associate, who was hired less than three weeks ago, is no longer employed by our company."

The Associated Press has since picked up on the story tonight, more than 19 hours after first broken by WND.

Fogleman says the original email from Kirby was taken out of context, and Wal-Mart's use of the "Happy Holidays" theme was to be inclusive of celebrations from Thanksgiving to Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Eve in addition to Christmas.

Last night, Wal-Mart spokeswoman Jolanda Stewart told WND her company was "absolutely not" banning Christmas as the Catholic League has been claiming.

To demonstrate an instance of discrimination, Donohue points out, and WND confirmed, that when using the company's online search engine, if the word "Hanukkah" is entered, 200 items for sale are returned. The term "Kwanzaa" yields 77. But when "Christmas" is entered, the message returned says: "We've brought you to our 'Holiday' page based on your search." WND screen capture of Wal-Mart website shows when 'Christmas' is entered in search engine, results are deferred to a 'Holiday' page

However, the search also brings up a secondary link on which to click, which reveals 7,970 items that match the "Christmas" term.

When WND entered the name "Jesus," 5,668 items were displayed.

The complaint is that only Christmas, and no other religion's holiday, brings up the special holiday page.

"We already serve a diverse customer base, and we're just trying to help them to celebrate their individual needs and wants," Stewart said.

"Stewart's remark is flatulent," Donohue says. "If Wal-Mart had a 'Holiday' section on its website that directed customers to its Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa sites, that would not be objectionable."

"Today, I e-mailed Dan Fogleman," Donohue continued, "letting him know the following: 'Now that Wal-Mart is standing by its position, I hope you're ready for our next move. Don't forget, we have the next six weeks to pull out all the stops, and we will.'"

As WorldNetDaily has previously reported, the celebration of Christmas is a major cultural battleground in the U.S., dating back to colonial America when Christians in New England outlawed Christmas, saying it was based more on ancient pagan traditions than instruction from the Bible.

Today, followers of ancient paganism strive to remind the public about the heathen origins of traditions that many may never have questioned.

CircleSanctuary.org is among the Internet addresses run by nature-worshipping pagans. Author Selena Fox discusses the state of being pagan and celebrating the lengthening of days during the Northern Hemisphere's darkest time of year.

"Yule, the winter solstice, is a festival of peace and a celebration of waxing solar light. I honor the new sun child by burning a[n] oaken yule log in a sacred fire. I honor the great goddess in her many great mother aspects, and the father god as Santa in his old sky god, father time, and holly king forms. I decorate my home with lights and with holly, ivy, mistletoe, evergreens and other herbs sacred to this season. I ring in the new solar year with bells."

Fox even provides a list of suggestions on how 21st century citizens can take part in the ancient rituals, to "re-paganize" Christmastime:

• Have gift exchanges and feasts over the course of several days and nights as was done of old

• Adorn the home with sacred herbs and colors; decorate in druidic holiday colors of red, green and white

• Hang a sprig of mistletoe above a major threshold and leave it there until next yule as a charm for good luck throughout the year

• Have family/household members join together to make or purchase an evergreen wreath

• If you choose to have a living or a harvested evergreen tree as part of your holiday decorations, call it a solstice tree and decorate it with pagan symbols

• Reclaim Santa Claus as a pagan godform by decorating him with images that reflect his various heritages ranging from the Greek god Cronos (father time) to Odin, the Scandinavian all-father riding the sky on an eight-legged horse

• Place pagan mother-goddess images around your home, possibly including one with a sun child, such as Isis with Horus

• Honor the new solar year with light – light candles, burn a yule log and save a portion for the following year, put colored lights outside your home, and with the popularity of five-pointed stars, consider displaying a blue or white pentagram.

Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

[NYer]

'Now that Wal-Mart is standing by its position, I hope you're ready for our next move. Don't forget, we have the next six weeks to pull out all the stops, and we will.'

No Christmas ?

No Wal-Mart! I'll take my business elsewhere.

[Razz Barry]

"Wal-Mart's use of the "Happy Holidays" theme was to be inclusive of celebrations from Thanksgiving to Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Eve in addition to Christmas."

They should let the employees pick the greeting they prefer. The customers can respond how they wish. I refuse to wish anyone a "Happy Holidays" as it includes kwanzaa. I don't recognize holidays created by criminals.

[WLR]

No Merry Christmas.

No Merry Christmas spending by this family at that store.

Period....

We will survive I think somehow.


Wm

[HiTech RedNeck]

I'd rather a Season's Greetings than a forced "Happy Holidays."

[Aeronaut]

It is hard to boycott a store I don't patronize other than pledging to continue not to go there.

[HiTech RedNeck]

They should let the employees pick the greeting they prefer.

"Merry Diwali" would probably confuse the heck out of most customers.

[Harrius Magnus]

I boycott (unofficially) any merchant who even suggests there is a "holiday" called Kwanza. Until I can (publicly) proclaim a holiday to commemorate the spirit of my mother-in-law, I would just as likely give my dough to the Ferengi.

[Frances_Marion]

So, what's the problem, Walmart? Christmas traditions are steeped in ancient paganism. Early Christians built their abbies on pagan ceremonial sites, and did the same with holidays to try and stamp out paganism. E.G. What do eggs have to do with Christ's resurrection? IMO the employee did nothing wrong and shouldn't have been fired just because some WalMart executives issued some idiotic directive banning the C word. Crap always rolls downhill.

[XR7]

[Axhandle]

People will get offended at anything. It's not just leftists getting offended at the mention of God or Santa anymore - now its the right wing as well, getting upset about the phrase "Happy Holidays." I guess we should be thankful. Anyone who gets so worked up about this stuff clearly has a lot of free time and thus must be doing well financially.

[R. Scott]

“Christmas” (Christ Mass or "Christes Maesee" in Old English) is relatively new, and has been in its current form only a few hundred years. The holiday observed around the Winter Solstice is a few thousand years old. People just have a hard time keeping them separate. It seems that exchanging gifts, parties and holiday decorations are more fun than simply attending a church service and having a large family dinner.
Today more people celebrate Saturnalia than celebrate Christmas. They just prefer to call it “Christmas”.

[R. Scott]

"Re-paganize" Christmastime:
"Have gift exchanges and feasts over the course of several days and nights as was done of old.
Adorn the home with sacred herbs and colors; decorate in druidic holiday colors of red, green and white.
Hang a sprig of mistletoe above a major threshold and leave it there until next yule as a charm for good luck throughout the year.
Have family/household members join together to make or purchase an evergreen wreath.
If you choose to have a living or a harvested evergreen tree as part of your holiday decorations, call it a solstice tree and decorate it with pagan symbols.
Reclaim Santa Claus as a pagan godform by decorating him with images that reflect his various heritages ranging from the Greek god Cronos (father time) to Odin, the Scandinavian all-father riding the sky on an eight-legged horse.
Place pagan mother-goddess images around your home, possibly including one with a sun child, such as Isis with Horus.
Honor the new solar year with light - light candles, burn a yule log and save a portion for the following year, put colored lights outside your home, and with the popularity of five-pointed stars, consider displaying a blue or white pentagram."

Seems nothing much has to change except "...call it a solstice tree..."

[Axhandle]

Also, as someone who invested several thousand dollars into Wal-Mart stock a few weeks ago and is finally seeing his money grow in the stock market, please continue to shop at Wal-Mart - or begin shopping there if you have never been. This Christmas versus Happy Holidays crap is nothing but a ploy by the same folks who hate Wal-Mart because it is a successful capitalist venture - the same folks who recently released the movie "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices." Bunch of communists.