Posted on 11/15/2005 7:50:40 AM PST by NYer
New York, Nov. 14, 2005 (CNA) - Wal-Mart officials have restored the theme of Christmas to their Web site and rescinded outlandish statements made by an employee about the origin of Christmas after the Catholic League filed a series of complaints of discrimination.
"This is a sweet victory for the Catholic League, Christians in general, and people of all faiths," said Catholic League president Bill Donohue, according to a report by WorldNetDaily.com.
The controversy was sparked when a woman recently complained that Wal-Mart was replacing its "Merry Christmas" greeting with "Happy Holidays."
The woman reportedly received an e-mail response from a customer-service representative, which read: "Walmart is a worldwide 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."
Wal-Mart spokesperson Dan Fogleman confirmed the original note was written by a Wal-Mart representative named Kirby. He responded: "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."
Fogleman apologized for the employee’s comments, calling them "inappropriate and inflammatory."
Donohue pointed to the company Web site for an example of discrimination against Christmas. If the word "Hanukkah" was typed in the search engine, 200 retail items were returned. The term "Kwanzaa" returned 77. But when "Christmas" was entered, the message said: "We've brought you to our 'Holiday' page based on your search."
Donohue said Wal-Mart has also adjusted its Web site so that when a customer types "Christmas" in its search engine, the customer is taken directly to a site named "Christmas."
However, Wal-Mart says it will not change its policy of encouraging employees to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," Donohue reported.
So what is WalMart's actual corporate position on the religion of the Visigoths? Are they Arians, or Gnostics, or what?
Theologians everywhere want to know.....
Keep fighting the good fight Bill, we need you.
Is there a picture of this 'shroom' guy anywhere?
I don't need any corporation to endorse my religion.
I however also believe that you can shop wherever you want. You want Christmas go to places that belong to your religion.
However I'll bet you anything that Jesus would want us to walk into places where there are not Christians and spread the gospel rather than trying to make everyone conform to us just for the sake of not pissing us off.
Keep fighting the good fight Bill, we need you.
Thank God for Bill Donohue & the Catholic League!
Ya just can't mess with the Irish Catholics! LOL
But I still think we'll do our Christmas shopping online purchasing products MADE IN USA!
And you ask "where can I find products MADE IN USA?"
right here, http://www.usstuff.com
"Americans work when you buy American goods!"
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Semper Fi,
Kelly
Yea!
****************
Good for him. Another victory in the war against religion.
I'll take that bet! I bet 50 quid (80 dollars?) that Jesus would prefer that Wall-Mart mentioned his name on a webpage to do with his Birthday.
Now we just have to wait until the Second Coming to find out which one of us is right :0)
I hear Macy's also will be bringing back Merry Christmas and dropping the Happy Holiday's BS.
This is yesterday's news from last week. This is all a non issue.
I have gone out of my way for the past few years to respond to a "Happy Holidays" with a "Merry Christmas".
Someone actually told me that it was not correct to say "Merry Christmas" anymore, to which I replied, "I am a Christian, I celebrate the birth of Christ at this time of year".
That might be so if that were the case BUT that has nothing to do with this. This has to do with succesful opposition against removing Christ from public discourse. There is nothing shameful about proclaiming Christ whether it be in observance of His birth or in taking an oath of office etcetera. If proclaiming Christ in public was made illegal I for one would be found guilty of such a crime...
I think they mean the 'Primaries'.
And you are absolutely correct! Bless you for remembering.
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