Wal-Mart has decided to unconditionally embrace the Christmas spirit this year. Wal-Mart is concerned that Christmas has become too secularized in recent years. In order to buck the “Happy Holidays” trend, Wal-Mart is now bringing Christmas back in a big way. The season will be marked in stores with giant posters counting down the days to Christmas, Christmas carols playing in stores and Wal-Mart’s seasonal department has changed its name from The Holiday Shop to The Christmas Shop. Last year, there was boycotting of Wal-Mart due to their secular holiday season, and Wal-Mart immediately became another casualty of what Bill O’Reilly calls the “War on Christmas.”
O’Reilly has often mentioned this guerilla war waged by “secular-progressives” who allegedly want to remove Christmas from American vocabulary. In response, Wal-Mart has become one of the biggest proponents of Christmas. Let’s not, however, make the mistake of believing Wal-Mart is striking a blow against the promoters of “Happy Holidays.” This isn’t a victory for traditional values as O’Reilly would have us believe, it is a victory for Christmas capitalism. A few more red Christmas banners will result in a sleigh-load of green in the Walton family checkbooks.
And there lies the tragedy. The real war against Christmas is a war of commercialization. O’Reilly and friends have made it unpatriotic to downplay the holiday’s commercial aspects. These “traditionalists” should be careful; they are single-handedly moving the focus of Christmas away from family and on to purchasing, spending and “war.” Who cares what giant retailers advertise? We need to re-evaluate and decide our own priorities. Do we want our holidays to be marked by getting three-for-one deals on mangers at Sam’s Club or to reclaim the season as one of peace and joy?
Regardless, it’s going to be another great Christmas for Wal-Mart. After an exhausting day of counting money and checking profit margins, Wal-Mart can curl up in front of the fire for story time with Uncle Bill O’Reilly. They’ve decided how they want to celebrate the holidays; don’t let them dictate yours.
