Anyway, I decided to write them, to tell them of my concern (my wife must be a VIP customer of theirs), and to say that my dollars can be spent elsewhere, at stores who do not find Christmas to be offensive.
Amazingly I had a real person answer me, and I print that letter below:
Thank you for your recent e-mail message regarding our omission of the word "Christmas" in our catalogs.
Lands' End has adopted the "holiday" terminology as a way to comply with one of the basic freedoms granted to all Americans: freedom of religion. We recognize that Christmas is a Christian holiday, and one of the foremost teachings of the Christian faith is a love for one's fellowman- -no matter what his race, religion, or creed.
If we knew which customers feel as you feel, we would be delighted to send them catalogs with Christmas splashed throughout the pages. However, we don't know, and we no more wish to offend anyone than you would knowingly say something offensive to an acquaintance.
Therefore, we are using the term "holiday" to show respect for all individuals, including those who do not celebrate Christmas but instead observe other festive days and beliefs during this season. They, too, are our customers, our friends, and our neighbors.
We are truly sorry that you are disappointed with our decision. However, we hope you'll respect our position as we respect yours.
All of us at Lands' End wish you a very joyous and festive Christmas, filled with love and peace, and a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year!
Please feel free to contact us again at any time!
What I am fascinated by is the use of the word comply. Who is forcing this merchant to comply with the First Amendment? This is political correctness run amok.
The other thing I find interesting is the preachy little sermonette about central tenets of the Christian faith.
In the end, they admit,that if they have to offend anyone, it will be Christians--by leaving out the offensive word Christmas from their catalogues.
In fairness, they did wish me a Merry Christmas--but I wonder if their political commissar approved that salutation.
If you wish to drop them a polite note, you can do so from here.
I cannot believe it!! I am shocked. I noticed Bath and Body Works and Coldwater Creek have Christmas on the front and inside covers of their Christmas catalogs.
That's a real disappointment and a cop-out by Lands End, especially coming from them who always used to run Christmas stories in their catalogs. I guess I won't be shopping there either this year.