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The Spirit of Christmas Reborn by Impassioned Wish Me A Merry Christmas Initiative

Media covering this story range from the Christian Broadcasting Network and KLOVE - the National Christian Radio Network to the Daily Press (Newport News, Va.) and Focus on the Family with Dr. James Dobson

As December draws near, the brightest, rosiest cheeks of enthusiastic shoppers may find the jolly removed from their Christmas at the biggest retailers across the nation because of their adopted policies: limited or no decorations for Christmas and specific instructions to employees to forgo wishing, "Merry Christmas," for a more generic, "Happy Holidays." As the Wish Me A Merry Christmas Campaign mobilizes advocates energized for a return to the traditional, convivial greeting, bearing buttons that make a clear statement - "It's OK, Wish Me A Merry Christmas(TM) ">", store associate "elves" on the front lines may soon be in discord with corporate retail executives concerning "Holiday" cheer.

Last year, growing consumer awareness of the disassociating of Christmas from December-buying pushed buyers to smaller independent shops where celebrating Christmas was still part of the occasion (America's Research Group, 2006*).

According to a 2004 Gallup Poll, 96 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas. In 2006, America's Research Group uncovered a major concern of buyers: the lack of Christmas decor. A majority - 53 percent - of Christmas shoppers were bothered by secularizing practices; nearly 40 percent of those looking for gifts said they would not have made the effort to shop at a specific retailer had they known in advance that the store would not be spruced up for Christmas. Others claim to have even avoided stores where this practice is enacted.

With annual sights set on profits generated from Christmas shopping activity, stores have pardoxically purged themselves of any affinity to Christmas while strains of secular holiday music resonate in the background. By simply affirming the two petitions of the National Wish Me A Merry Christmas Campaign, retailers stand to recoup and amplify their margins as starry-eyed shoppers go about their business with glee. To "put Christmas back in the holidays," the Campaign recommends that retailers:

. Actively retract adverse corporate holiday wishing policies by returning to the traditional and explicit, "Merry Christmas" salutation; and

. Restore use of the symbols, language and sounds of Christmas in in-store displays, signage and music, as well as in November and December advertising.

From Florida to Alaska and everywhere in between, individuals and churches have purchased tens of thousands of the red and green, "It's OK, Wish Me A Merry Christmas," ornament-like buttons to wear and share.

Said Campaign organizer, Ashley Tarter, aNational retailers will hearken the public's message that it is okay to wish, 'Merry Christmas,' once again.a

In the "North Pole" Two Rivers Community Church of the Nazarene of Fairbanks, Alaska has joined the Wish Me a Merry Christmas Campaign as a Charter Church. Pastor Bob Sugden said, "Since distributing the 'It's OK, Wish Me A Merry Christmas,' buttons on Sunday, I have received many phone calls from members of my congregation who are excited about the positive response they are receiving from the community. One woman told me that she was shopping and someone came up and asked her where she got her button. She took it off [and] gave it to the woman."

For more information, visit 'http://www.wmamc.com' - the first letters in Wish Me A Merry Christmas, or contact Media Relations at 800-487-7137, option 4. Merry Christmas!

* America's Research Group, 2006 - PDFs available at 'http://www.wmamc.com'

MEDIA: For further information, contact Ashley Tarter at 800-487-7137 ext. 709. Additional research content available via the MEDIA link at the Wish Me a Merry Christmas Campaign site, 'http://www.wmamc.com').
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   Ms. Ashley Tarter
   Campaign Manager
   Wish Me A Merry Christmas Campaign
   Williamsburg,    VA,    23185
   USA
   800-487-7137  (phone)
   atarter@wmamc.com