Issue: The Business of Christmas
The Business of Christmas
By: Sharon O'Malley
Pub. Date: December 5, 2016
Access Date: June 16, 2017
DOI: 10.1177/237455680224.n1
Source URL: http://businessresearcher.sagepub.com/sbr-1775-101449-2764035/20161205/the-business-of-christmas
©2017 SAGE Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
©2017 SAGE Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Are companies caught in “war” over holiday?
Executive Summary
From shopping malls to office cubicles, the religious tradition of the Christmas season is steadily disappearing as businesses try to avoid
alienating customers or employees. Companies are caught in a cross fire between those on both sides of what some have called a “war
on Christmas.” Civil libertarians, atheists, evangelicals and others are battling over nativity scenes, seasonal decorations and what
constitutes an acceptable holiday greeting, and even President-elect Donald Trump has weighed in. The weapons wielded in the conflict
include boycotts, public pressure campaigns and lawsuits.
Amid the clamor, some of the key takeaways include:
A growing number of businesses view the prospect of being pressured over Christmas-related issues as a potential threat.
Even seasonal traditions such as the company holiday party and year-end bonuses have been caught up in the controversy.
Although some retailers are pushing back against the frenzy of “Black Friday,” most consumers still like the day-after-Thanksgiving
kickoff to the holiday shopping season.
Overview
A Macy’s store window in downtown Chicago last November: a snowman and Peanuts characters, but no specific reference to
Christmas. (Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images)
It’s beginning to look a lot less like Christmas through the frosty, holiday-themed display windows of big-city department stores from New
York’s tony Fifth Avenue to Chicago’s upscale Magnificent Mile.
High-end retailers ranging from Bergdorf Goodman to Lord & Taylor to Hudson’s Bay to Bloomingdale’s are shelving Santa and his
elves in favor of sparkly scenes of winter wonderlands, frolicking forest animals and glitzy partygoers.
Christmas, deputy editorial page director Daniel Henninger observed in The Wall Street Journal about a similar trend last December, has
been “scrubbed” from holiday window displays, replaced by “the anti-Christmas,” including “little bears and cupcakes, gingerbread men
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and Canada geese.”
1
But Hudson’s Bay Co. President Liz Rodbell said the 90-location department store chain is just keeping up with trends. “We celebrate the
holidays, and we keep in mind that they are different for everyone,” she said. Of the whimsical “enchanted forest” display in the windows of
its flagship Toronto store, she said: “We were excited this year to capture the Christmas spirit in a new and unexpected way with our
window design.” 2
That “way,” said David McDermid, coordinator of visual merchandising arts at Seneca College in Toronto, is here to stay. “Cute woodland
animals—who doesn’t like that?” he said. “It’s inoffensive. Everybody wants to do forests, snow animals, anything that’s not a traditional
look.” Erasing traditional symbols of Christmas, he said, is “the politically correct way to go.” 3
From shopping malls to office cubicles, “politically correct” is displacing any trace of the religious tradition of the Christmas season a little
more each December. Store clerks are wishing customers “happy holidays” instead of “merry Christmas”; nativity scenes are
disappearing from public view except at churches; and businesses, in some cases, have nixed everything from secret Santa gift
exchanges to the tinsel-clad evergreens that for decades have graced their lobbies from Thanksgiving until New Year’s Day.
The companies are caught in the cross fire of a battle that is waged every November and December as organizations on both sides of
what some call the “war on Christmas” pressure retailers and governments, through boycotts or lawsuits, to either embrace or avoid the
religious aspects of the season.
Groups such as American Atheists and the Freedom From Religion Foundation focus their legal action on governments and schools,
while the American Family Association keeps a “Naughty-or-Nice” list to alert its members about which stores use “Christmas” in their
advertising, signage and greetings, and which do not. Even President-elect Donald Trump weighed in last year, urging a boycott of
Starbucks because the coffee chain’s holiday cup lacked any seasonal imagery.
The stakes are high and the terrain can be perilous, especially for retailers trying to avoid offending customers or triggering boycotts
during their most profitable time of year. On the other hand, there may be opportunity: The fuss over Starbucks’ cup reaped the company a
public relations bonanza that prompted envy from marketing experts who said that, even amid the criticism, public awareness of the brand
was heightened.
In a year when “political correctness” became an election-campaign attack phrase, proponents of a secular approach say it comes down
to simple inclusivity.
“When you say ‘happy holidays,’ you’re including everyone,” says Nick Fish, national program director for American Atheists, a nonprofit
based in Cranford, N.J., that advocates for the separation of government and religion. “When you say ‘merry Christmas’ and that’s all you
say, you’re excluding a large number of people in this country who are of different religions or who are not religious. You’re excluding
people in a way that doesn’t make sense.”
Still, according to the Pew Research Center, 70.6 percent of Americans described themselves as Christians in 2014, and 96 percent of
Christians celebrated Christmas. 4 Nine in 10 Americans, no matter what their religion, celebrate Christmas, the center reported. 5
Most View Christmas as Religious Holiday
Nine in 10 in U.S. say they celebrate Christmas
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Note: The Both/other category includes people who celebrate Christmas but do not say whether they think it is a religious or cultural holiday.
Source: “Celebrating Christmas and the Holidays, Then and Now,” Pew Research Center, Dec. 18, 2013, http://tinyurl.com/nxzzzx7
The vast majority of people in the United States celebrate Christmas, and about half see it through the lens of
religion, while almost one-third view it as a cultural holiday, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Seven
percent do not celebrate Christmas.
Conservative Christian groups like the Catholic League and the American Family Association have argued that those numbers justify the
use of religious symbols and the “merry Christmas” greeting by stores, businesses, governments and schools. “A majority of their
employees celebrate Christmas; why not celebrate Christmas with them?” says Randy Sharp, director of special projects for the
association. “You’re marketing specifically and directly to Christmas shoppers, not shoppers for any other reason. So why would you say
‘holidays’ instead of calling it what it is, which is Christmas? That’s where the offense is. You’re marketing for my Christmas dollars, yet
you won’t use the word Christmas.”
Groups on both sides of the divide have made progress. The Madison, Wis.-based Freedom From Religion Foundation has won or
settled dozens of lawsuits against municipalities that allow nativity scenes on public property but eschew symbols of other religions. 6 And
the threat of a boycott by American Family Association, which says it has more than a million online supporters, has moved retailers as
large as Walmart , Sears and Lowe’s to revert to using “Christmas” on in-store signs and commercials after temporarily replacing the
reference with “holidays,” says Sharp. In fact, all three have dedicated Christmas shops in their stores to sell ornaments, trees, wrapping
paper and decorations since they moved off of the “naughty” side of association’s annual list.
While many dismiss the debate as a hyped-up quarrel between a few conservative Christian and atheist organizations, a growing number
of retailers and non-retail businesses view the resulting lawsuits and boycotts as a potential threat to all. In response, some have become
skittish about using “Christmas” in ads, business greetings and even on party invitations, “seemingly to be politically correct,” says Walker
Wildmon, assistant to the American Family Association’s president.
“Not everybody does get hit with that Christmas issue,” says human resource consultant Brad Federman, chief operating officer of
Memphis-based F&H Solutions Group. But when boycotts hit large retail chains, “it makes everybody else uncomfortable and concerned.”
One result, says Ana Serafin Smith, senior director of media relations for the Washington, D.C.-based National Retail Federation:
“Nowadays, we’re seeing more and more … retailers using ‘happy holidays’ for all things related to the holidays.” She views the change as
a positive. “It made sense to make that transition, because at the end of the day, if you alienate a certain group by using a particular word,
you’re not going to get a sale out of that particular group.”
Beyond the mall, employers are doing the same. “Most companies acknowledge that we don’t have a workforce made up of just all
Christians, or just all men or just all women or just all white people,” says Kerry Chou, a senior practice leader at the human resource trade
association WorldatWork in Scottsdale, Ariz. “We’re multicultural. So ‘happy holidays’ is simply a generic way to include Christmas, to
include Hanukkah, to include, ‘Hey, have a great end of the year if you don’t celebrate any holidays.’ ”
That’s not to say that businesses and their employees aren’t celebrating. “Nobody is denying the holiday of Christmas exists,” human
resource expert Caren Goldberg, an associate professor of management at Bowie State University in Maryland, says. “It’s just accepting
that other holidays do exist, too.”
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Reynoldsburg, Ohio, lawyer Scott Warrick points to a local Jewish-owned bank in the Columbus suburb that decorates not just for
Christmas but for every December holiday celebrated by any of its employees. It also takes requests from customers.
Even atheist Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder of Freedom From Religion Foundation, supports a year-end celebration, noting that many
atheists buy trees and gifts and bake cookies in December to celebrate the winter solstice—Dec. 21 this year—which is the shortest day
of the year. “Merchants could make a little more money if they could … realize they’re catering to a very diverse population,” she says.
The main thing for businesses to embrace, Warrick advises, “is that we live in a world of many different religions. You have a right to your
religion. But that means the person sitting next to you has a right to theirs, too.”
As retailers, employers and human resource professionals weigh both sides of the so-called December dilemma, here are some of the
issues being debated:
Weighing the Issues
Is it safe for businesses to celebrate Christmas?
Every year for the past 40, the owners of a McDonald’s in Spring Hill, Tenn., have painted an image of the nativity on the restaurant’s
windows. Last year, a photo someone snapped of it while driving by went viral on Facebook. 7
The photographer, a passerby, described the mural as “bold … not just because it’s Christmas, but because of the era we are currently
living in.” The painting featured the words “rejoice” and “His name is Jesus.”
For every story of a business that publicly embraces the religious underpinnings of the Christmas season, another emerges about a
company that does the opposite.
As the fast-food franchise’s windows were making headlines in Tennessee, Microsoft was airing a national TV commercial featuring
store employees singing the Christmas hymn “Let There Be Peace on Earth”—sans the line that mentions God: “With God as our father,
brothers all are we.” That video went viral on YouTube. 8
Both actions drew praise and criticism from advocates of evoking religion during Christmastime and from those who view the December
holidays as secular and commercial.
Businesses employ people on both sides, making their decision about how to
celebrate the holidays a tug-of-war between tradition and inclusion as
workplaces become more culturally diverse.
“There was a real political correctness push in the ’90s and early 2000s,” says
labor attorney Rich Meneghello, a partner with the Portland, Ore., law office of
Fisher Phillips. “That’s where we are right now … with businesses thinking
they can’t call [a December gathering] a Christmas party and they can’t put a
tree in the lobby.”
“A sufficient enough backlash” by both employers and employees, however,
led the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2008 to
clarify “that those kinds of things are perfectly reasonable and fine for
employers to do,” Meneghello says. 9 Citing a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court
case, the EEOC said trees, wreaths, lights, Santa Claus, reindeer and other
commercial symbols of the season are “secular”; that is, they have no
religious or spiritual basis, and displaying them does not violate any law. 10
The clarification was directed at those who objected to Christmas-themed
decorations in schools and on government property, but it came on the heels
of an unsuccessful religious discrimination claim by a Florida woman who
said the property management company she worked for fired her because
she greeted callers with “merry Christmas” after her bosses told her to wish
them “happy holidays” instead. 11
This photo of a McDonald’s window with a painted nativity
scene in Spring Hill, Tenn., taken by a passerby, went viral on
Facebook. (Photo courtesy of Amy Basel)
An employer who insists on either greeting is well within the law, Meneghello
says, “unless you go too far.” For instance, a business that displays a live
nativity scene in its lobby—one with human actors posing as Jesus, Mary and Joseph—or a company that holds a Catholic Mass in the
workplace during Christmas week would be likely to land in court, he says.
A more likely breach, however, would involve a party with a religious theme or a Christian holiday tradition, like caroling, that management
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requires all employees to join. In that case, non-Christian employees might successfully argue that their own sincerely held beliefs should
exempt them from the activity, Meneghello says.
“Religious accommodation laws in our country allow employees to beg off of activities they perceive to be religious in nature,” he says.
That could include greeting clients with “merry Christmas,” he adds. Unless the employer can prove that the absence of the traditional
religious greeting would create an “undue hardship” for the company, Meneghello says, the law is on the side of the employee who refuses
to say it for religious reasons.
In 2011, for instance, the department store Belk had to pay a Jehovah’s Witness $55,000 for firing her when she refused to wear a Santa
hat and apron. 12 Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Christmas is a pagan holiday and they do not celebrate it.
“The problem,” says Federman, the human resource consultant, “is if you force it.”
A second problem doesn’t involve the law.
“Just because you can legally do something,” Meneghello says, “I would really question whether you want to do it.”
First, he says, mandating the use of “merry Christmas”—or banning it—could affect employee morale. “Unless you have a real, legitimate
reason for banning employees from saying ‘merry Christmas’ around the workplace, you could drive them to want to leave your
workplace,” he says.
A better option, Federman suggests, is letting employees choose how to greet customers during the holidays. “I’m seeing more and more
companies say: ‘Do what makes you feel comfortable and/or what your customers might feel comfortable with.… People wind up choosing
things that are general or specific to that time period, so when Hanukkah is happening they say, ‘happy Hanukkah,’ and when Christmas is
happening, they say, ‘merry Christmas.’ ”
Some businesses, particularly small ones, take their cue from their communities. “If you are a retailer that is the only store in a town where
the majority of the folks there are Christian, then it’s totally acceptable to say ‘merry Christmas’ to your employees and to your customers,”
says the National Retail Federation’s Smith. “But if you’re in a much more diverse neighborhood, you have to be sensitive to where your
customers are and where your store is. It all comes down to getting to know your consumer.”
Second, Meneghello says, managers and business owners could be overreacting to a few highly publicized boycotts and lawsuits.
“If the reason you’re [banning ‘merry Christmas’] is because you’re worried about being sued, it’s a myth that political correctness is so
rampant in the workplace,” he says.
“You don’t have to be so uptight about it.”
Has the company Christmas party become a casualty of the “war on Christmas”?
Businesses that are uptight about their end-of-year holiday parties might have good reason to be—but not because of the celebration’s
name.
A California appellate court in 2013 found the Marriott Del Mar Hotel liable for the death of a driver whose car was rear-ended by a
Marriott employee who had gotten drunk at the company’s holiday party.
Employees were invited, but not forced, to attend the after-hours gala and were offered two drink tickets for beer and wine. According to
court documents, hotel bartender Michael Landri, who attended the party but did not work at it, drank beer and had a shot of whiskey at
home before the party and brought a flask with him to the affair.
Landri filled his flask with Jack Daniel’s, supplied by a Marriott department head, at least once during the party, according to the papers.
Then a co-worker drove Landri and some colleagues to Landri’s house. Twenty minutes later, Landri left to drive a colleague home. Along
the way, he rear-ended another car and killed the driver. 13
The case broadened the risk of liability for employers who serve alcohol during work-related events. Marriott argued that the party was
social and not business, but the court disagreed. The court said the company “created” the risk of harm by allowing the employee to get
drunk, saying the hotel could have enforced its two-drink limit, closed the bar earlier or served only non-alcoholic refreshments. 14
“When you throw alcohol into the mix,” says Bowie State University’s Goldberg, company holiday parties “are a cocktail for a lawsuit,” and
not only because of the potential for accidents.
After a West Virginia woman was fired after skipping her office’s holiday party, she sued her bosses, the owners of an obstetrics practice,
for sex discrimination. She accused one of them of sexual harassment for explicit comments he had made about her appearance and for
15
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inappropriate touching long before the party. 15 In 2010, a female investigator for a Century City, Calif., law firm filed a sexual harassment
complaint against the practice after a partner took male employees to a bikini bar after the annual holiday party and bought them each a
lap dance. 16
Holiday Hiring Up in Retail, Transportation
Five of seven companies project increases from 2012 levels
Note: 2016 figures are based on company announcements reported by consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
Source: “Challenger’s Seasonal Hiring Outlook 2016: Shift from Front-of-Office to Behind-the-Scenes,” Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., September
2016, http://tinyurl.com/gpvstce
Holiday-season hiring in retail and transportation is expected to be higher in 2016 compared with levels of four
years ago. Five of seven companies announced hiring that will exceed 2012 levels, while J.C. Penney’s
numbers will remain the same and Target’s will fall.
The result, says Federman, is that human resource professionals have become wary of serving alcohol at holiday parties and some are
skipping the festivities altogether, opting instead for family-friendly company picnics or luncheons.
Businesses, he says, “don’t want to have the holiday party that leads to people’s careers dying, or that leads to someone being
embarrassed, or that leads to things that happen at home.”
Talent management consultant Michael Monar of Monar Consulting in Chicago agrees.
“The crazy, ‘Mad Men’-type Christmas party is mostly a thing of the past,” he says. “Any time you get men and women together and there’s
too much alcohol to drink, there’s always the potential for inappropriate behavior.”
Still, 80 percent of companies will host holiday parties for their employees in December, according to an annual survey by outplacement
consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, and nearly 62 percent of them will serve alcohol, up from 54 percent last year. 17 And this
year’s parties could be more elaborate than last year’s, says Andrew Challenger, the firm’s vice president, as the economy continues to
strengthen. “We will see that shift now as we get into an economic cycle where employees are sitting in the driver’s seat; they’re hot
commodities,” Challenger says. “Companies will want to keep them happy with parties.”
WorldatWork’s Chou cautions employers to choose party themes that include all members of the company’s diverse workforce so nonChristians do not feel left out, or feel that opportunities to bond with team members and superiors are only for those willing to attend an
event with a religious undercurrent.
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“Certain employees [might] feel like they’re excluded from all of the ‘chum’ time; that all of the ‘golf course’ time takes place at this
Christmas party; that people who hang out together at this party and become friends … are the ones who are getting promoted,” Chou
says. “My concern is the Christmas thing is one small example where some employees feel they are excluded because of certain beliefs,
so they are missing out on opportunities that affect their career.”
Are consumers tired of the holiday shopping season?
Black Friday started on Thanksgiving this year—again. But some stores opened as early as 3 p.m. that Thursday.
J.C. Penney was the early bird among leading department stores, opening at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving. That’s two hours earlier than
Macy’s opened. 18 Most large department stores, including Walmart, Kohl’s , Target and Sears, opened at 6 p.m.
If shoppers are weary of Christmas creep—led, perhaps, by Costco , which unveiled its Christmas tree display in August this year—they
haven’t shown it by staying home when the stores are open, says the National Retail Federation’s Smith. “Retailers wouldn’t be doing
those types of things,” she says, “if the consumers weren’t asking for it. There’s a consumer population that wants to get [their shopping]
items off the list, and as early as possible.”
Shoppers like Black Friday, a study by two professors at South Carolina’s Winthrop University found. Professors Jane Boyd Thomas and
Cara Peters, who interviewed 38 “experienced Black Friday shoppers” over two years, learned that these consumers are energized by the
competitive nature of the day, as crowds of shoppers vie for the same deeply discounted items. Plus, many of the shoppers consider the
day a ritual, much like Thanksgiving dinner, that they plan for during the weeks leading up to it. 19
But some in the retail industry are pushing back against the trend to pull workers away from their family holiday on Nov. 24. For example,
the country’s largest shopping center, Mall of America in Minneapolis, announced in October that it would not open on Thanksgiving. 20 Jill
Renslow, the mall’s vice president of marketing and business development, told reporters the company gave this day “back to our
employees so they can celebrate with their families.” 21 The outdoor gear retailer REI took it one step further, closing on both
Thanksgiving and Black Friday and urging their customers to spend those days outside rather than shopping.
The Cafaro Co. and CBL & Associates , commercial developers that each own dozens of shopping malls, said they will keep most of
their properties closed on Thanksgiving as well. “What we’ve found, to a large extent, is it doesn’t create any greater pool of sales,” Cafaro
spokesman Joe Bell said. “It’s not enticing shoppers to spend any more. It just sort of spreads out the consumer spending over several
days rather than a big chunk of it on Black Friday.” 22
In fact, Smith says, expanding the shopping season is the point. “Retailers are constantly engaging with their customer base rather than
just on that one big day, Black Friday,” she says. “That’s why you’re seeing some holiday creep.”
The American Family Association’s “Naughty-or-Nice” list of businesses that do or don’t make reference to Christmas in their
holiday marketing.
Smith joked that some are calling the early-bird shopping season “Black November.”
The crowds tell the story. Last year, 74.2 million shopped at brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday, and about 35 million hit the stores on
23
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Thanksgiving Day, according to the National Retail Federation.
and 41 million shoppers who went online on Thanksgiving. 24
23
That compares with 75.3 million who shopped online on Black Friday
Online shoppers spent a record $4.45 billion on those two days in 2015, according to Adobe.
25
Then, on Cyber Monday, the Internet’s version of Black Friday three days later, 103 million shopped online, while 102 million visited
physical stores. 26
This year, more people shopped on Black Friday than in 2015, although they spent a bit less on average because of discount deals, and
online shopping continued to grow, according to the retail federation. 27
In an October survey of 502 U.S. adults, 54 percent said they don’t like stores to open on Thanksgiving, and they will not shop on that
holiday. 28
But Smith says shoppers prefer to find Black Friday-style deals spread out over a number of days rather than concentrated on just one.
“They don’t want to spend their whole paycheck on one day,” she says. “They’d rather spend $50 today and then spend some more later.”
Retailers are responding by offering daily- or weekend-only specials on toys, small electronics and apparel—typical Black Friday
purchases—before or after the Thanksgiving weekend, she says. But they are reserving sales on big-ticket items like TVs and home
appliances, which rarely are discounted, just for Black Friday and just for physical stores, she says.
The National Retail Federation is forecasting that consumers will spend $655.8 billion during this winter’s holiday season, up 3.6 percent
from last year and slightly more than the seven-year average increase of 3.4 percent per year since the economic recovery began in
2009. 29
Still, uncertainty surrounding the presidential election and the new president have made shoppers a bit more cautious about spending.
According to the NRF’s annual consumer spending survey, holiday shoppers will spend an average of $935.58 apiece on gifts, food,
flowers, decorations, greeting cards and items for themselves. That’s down slightly from $952.58 last year. 30
Spending during the winter holidays is higher than during any other time of the year, by far. In second place is back-to-school spending,
which grossed retailers $75.8 billion this year, $580 billion less than they will reap during the holidays.
Background
The Original War
The war over Christmas is as old and historic as the earliest Puritan settlers of Massachusetts.
Unlike the Pilgrims, who preceded them to the New World and advocated a complete separation between church and state, the Puritans
wished to remain in their native Anglican Church and blend the two.
When the first pious Puritans from England landed in Massachusetts Bay in 1630, they brought with them a great disdain for Christmas.
Their compatriots in England banned the holiday in 1647 amid the turmoil of a civil war that ended in the beheading of King Charles I.
Instead of a day of celebration and feasting, Parliament decreed that Dec. 25 should be reserved for “fasting and humiliation,” a time for
the English to atone for their sins. 31
The Puritans of New England declared the same, and in 1659 celebrating Christmas became a criminal offense, punishable by a fine of 5
shillings.
Those early American Puritans believed Christmas was a pagan holiday, as the Bible does not place the birth of Jesus in December.
Pagans once celebrated the winter solstice with drinking, feasting and gambling.
Catholics, scorned in the Puritans’ native England after the founding of the Anglican Church, commemorated Christmas in much the same
way. The Puritans blamed them for using the nativity as an excuse for misbehaving.
England reinstated Christmas in 1660, but Massachusetts did not for 21 more years. And for almost 200 years after that, businesses and
schools in Massachusetts remained open on Dec. 25. By the 1850s, much of America had begun to embrace the holiday, but Christmas
did not become official and widely celebrated in Massachusetts until 1856, when it became a public holiday in the commonwealth, along
with George Washington’s birthday and the Fourth of July. 32
In 1870, Christmas became a federal holiday.
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Round 2
Automaker Henry Ford, well-known as an anti-Semite, declared in 1920 that American Jews were waging war on Christmas.
In Ford’s weekly news magazine, he published a series of articles titled “The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem.” Those
articles promoted the notion that Jews were so influential in American society that “most people had a hard time finding Christmas cards
that indicated in any way that Christmas commemorated Someone’s Birth.”
One article said: “People sometimes ask why 3,000,000 Jews can control the
affairs of 100,000,000 Americans. In the same way that ten Jewish students
can abolish the mention of Christmas and Easter out of schools containing
3,000 Christian pupils.” 33
Three decades later, the right-wing John Birch Society published a pamphlet
blaming the United Nations for an “assault on Christmas” and of promoting a
change in language from “Christmas” to “holiday” when referring to trees and
Christmastime. “UN fanatics,” the pamphlet said, “… what they now want to
put over on the American people is simply this: Department stores throughout
the country are to utilize UN symbols and emblems as Christmas
decorations.” 34 The Birch Society also blamed Communists for trying to
“weaken the pillar of religion in our country [with their] drive to take Christ out
of Christmas.” 35
Law of the Land
Auto pioneer Henry Ford, whose magazine accused Jews of
waging war on Christmas.
A week before Christmas in 1980, Pawtucket, R.I., resident Daniel Donnelly,
with backing from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), filed a lawsuit
against the city over nativity scenes on public property—a seasonal fixture for
more than 40 years. A U.S. District Court judge ruled that the display was
unconstitutional, saying the “government may not assist in the fight to keep
Christ in Christmas.” 36 A federal appeals court agreed two years later, and
the U.S. Department of Justice intervened, helping the city take the appeal to
the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a landmark ruling, the high court in 1984 reversed both lower courts, saying that the crèche, as a part of a larger display that included
other holiday decorations, such as Santa and his reindeer, “depicts the historical origins of this traditional event long recognized as a
National Holiday,” even though it is a religious symbol. 37
Five years later, the Supreme Court again ruled on the side of a nativity scene, this one on the grand staircase of the Allegheny County
Courthouse in Pittsburgh. Again, the ACLU and seven residents had sued the city in an effort to force it to permanently remove the display.
While the justices conceded that “[t]here is no doubt, of course, that the crèche itself is capable of communicating a religious message,” it
posed “ ‘no realistic risk’ of represent[ing] an effort to proselytize.” In fact, the justices ruled, lower courts that aimed to ban the display
showed “an unjustified hostility toward religion.” 38
An Escalating War
That is the last word the U.S. Supreme Court has said on the matter of religious decorations on public property. But atheist and nontheist
groups such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation each year file suits in local courts to stop cities, counties and public schools from
using religious symbols in their holiday decorations and from requiring students to participate in activities, such as pageants and caroling,
involving Christian traditions.
Those groups have not targeted retailers or other businesses. On the other side of the issue, however, are conservative Christian
organizations, which have. The American Family Association and the Catholic League, among others, have responded to the efforts of
secular organizations to stop the use of the word “Christmas” or the displaying of religious Christian symbols during the holidays and also
have targeted businesses that have voluntarily moved toward more generic decorations and language.
The pro-Christmas organizations have a highly public champion: Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, who, in December 2004 aired a segment
called “Christmas Under Siege.” Widely considered the first salvo in what some call the modern war on Christmas, the segment featured
O’Reilly criticizing Denver’s holiday parade, which featured no religious floats, and New York’s then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who
unveiled what he called the “holiday tree.” O’Reilly accused Macy’s of doing away with the greeting, “merry Christmas.” 39
Other conservative broadcasters have, like O’Reilly, made an annual tradition of calling out governments, organizations and businesses
that step away from traditional Christmas greetings and decorations. Even before O’Reilly’s first segment, Peter Brimelow, then a Fortune
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magazine editor, in 1995 published “Alien Nation,” an anti-immigration tome in which he said an influx of “weird [immigrants] with dubious
habits” were moving America’s ethnic core away from whites and Christians—a trend, he said, that weakened the stronghold of
Christmas. In 1999, he invited his online followers to publicize organizations that called their end-of-year fetes “holiday parties” and
retailers that greeted customers with “happy holidays” instead of “merry Christmas.” 40
Political commentator Pat Buchanan has called the trend toward using “holidays” in place of “Christmas” a “hate crime … against
Christianity.” Former Fox News host John Gibson wrote a 2005 book called “The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the
Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought.” More recently, former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin penned
“Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas,” which advocates returning to religious-themed displays and activities in
public schools.
In 2005, the Catholic League called for a boycott of Walmart because the retail giant referred to “holidays” instead of “Christmas” on its
website and of Lowe’s for referring to “holiday trees” instead of “Christmas trees” in its stores and ads. Members of the American Family
Association boycotted Target for replacing “Christmas” with “holidays” in its commercials. 41
The boycotts were called off when the retailers agreed to mention Christmas in their ads. But two years later, when a Lowe’s print ad
referred to “family trees,” the American Family Association called for another boycott. The home-improvement chain publicly apologized
for the language, saying it was “a complete error” resulting from “a breakdown in our own creative process.” 42
Those retailers were early targets of the association’s 10-year-old “Naughty-or-Nice” list, which classifies stores based on how prominent
the word “Christmas” is in their stores and advertisements.
The family association’s Sharp says the 2007 list was top-heavy with “naughty” retailers, noting that 80 percent of the 100 stores the group
reviewed rarely referred to “Christmas.” On the 2015 list, he says, 80 percent of the retailers were on the “nice” side of the ledger. He
credits pressure on stores from the organization’s members with reversing the retailers’ reluctance to include the word “Christmas” in their
commercials, store signage, website and employee greetings.
Current Situation
Red-Cup Controversy
A company accused last year of hating Jesus is reaping public relations gold.
Starbucks became the face of the so-called war on Christmas in November 2015 when it introduced a plain red holiday cup devoid of any
holiday symbolism except its color.
For that, Internet evangelist Joshua Feurstein, in a Facebook post that went viral, labeled the world’s largest coffee chain “anti-Christmas.”
Bloggers, social media posters and Christian groups said the chain had declared war on Christmas. 43
Trump was so offended by the cup that he suggested a boycott of the coffee chain. “If I become president,” he told a crowd gathered for a
campaign speech in Illinois in November 2015, “we’re all going to be saying ‘merry Christmas’ again. That I can tell you.” 44
Dunkin’ Donuts issued a rival cup featuring the word “Joy” in red letters.
The story made front pages and nightly news broadcasts for days.
Did Starbucks Holiday Cup Controversy Boost Sales?
Fourth-quarter sales rose in 2015
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Note: The graph uses fourth-quarter numbers from Starbucks’ store sales.
Source: “Supplemental Financial Data,” Starbucks Investor Relations, Oct. 2, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/als3rlv
Starbucks faced controversy in 2015 when it removed “symbols of the season” from its holiday cups, instead
opting for a minimalist red cup. Despite outrage from some customers over the new cups, fourth-quarter sales
increased in 2015.
Along with the criticism, however, came kudos from public relations and marketing professionals, who lauded the business savvy behind
stirring up what the media dubbed “the red-cup controversy.” It “should become a future MBA case study on how business can get into the
consumers’ subconscious,” CNBC media consultant Mark Macias said. “Without spending a dime on advertising, PR or even lifting a cup,
Starbucks got its brand into the conversation of nearly every American.” 45
Inc. magazine called the “red cup decision … one of the best marketing shortcuts of the year.”
46
This year, the coffee chain drew more barbs when it unveiled a green cup with no traditional or festive images on Nov. 1. The design
featured a “mosaic of more than a hundred people drawn in one continuous stroke” by artist Shogo Ota, according to a company
statement. 47 The statement called the presidential campaign “a divisive time in our country” and said the cup is “a symbol of unity as a
reminder of our shared values, and the need to be good to each other.”
Critics weren’t impressed. They again called it a “declaration of war on Christmas.”
48
A few days earlier, someone claiming to be a Starbucks employee posted a photo on Reddit of what he said was Starbucks’ holiday cup
—red, with a white design featuring snow-covered branches and berries. But on Nov. 4, the chain’s website announced that Starbucks
stores would be bringing back their plain red cup from last year. It also announced that customers who bought a holiday beverage between
Nov. 10 and 14 would get another one for free. 49
A few days later, however, the company unveiled its new holiday cup designs: 13 of them. Each red cup features a holiday-themed
drawing by a customer who submitted artwork to the company. Starbucks chose from 1,200 designs submitted by artists in 13 countries,
the chain said. 50
And it reported record annual profits of $4.2 billion in November, up 16 percent from 2015.
51
Bonus Beware
The traditional end-of-year bonus could become less of a holiday surprise and more of a scheduled reward for good performance now that
the U.S. Department of Labor has changed its rule for overtime pay.
Under the new rule, which was scheduled to take effect Dec. 1, companies would have to pay overtime to anyone earning less than
$47,476 a year—$913 a week—who works more than 40 hours a week. The change would affect 4.2 million workers, and would double
the long-standing salary cutoff of $23,660 for the overtime exemption. 52 A federal judge on Nov. 22 halted implementation of the rule,
leaving its status unclear. 53
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The update aims to strengthen protections for salaried workers who are entitled to overtime. But employers have said it could force them
to lower starting salaries, give fewer raises and hire more employees so they don’t have to pay so much in overtime. 54
And it could lead them to rethink the Christmas bonus.
Nearly a quarter of businesses doled out a year-end gift last year to each employee that was unrelated to the worker’s performance,
according to a 2015 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, a trade association for HR professionals. That’s down from
32 percent in 2013. 55
That’s different from a bonus, which is typically a reward for employees who have earned the extra cash with their exceptional performance
throughout the year.
Three-quarters of companies plan to give cash bonuses this December based on performance, according to a survey from staffing firm
Accounting Principals. The average amount: $1,081, up from $858 last year. 56
Challenger of the firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas calls year-end bonuses “completely in fashion. It’s a
great way for companies to get a little bit of extra kick at the end of the year in terms of culture, that’s not
built in.”
Companies “had to lean out their compensation practices” during the 2008 recession, he says, and many
have returned to year-end bonuses rather than salary increases because they can choose to award them
only during profitable years.
The new Labor Department rule could change the way companies award holiday bonuses, Challenger
says. Businesses can use nondiscretionary bonuses—those that employees know they can earn by
meeting certain performance goals—to help boost a worker’s salary above the exemption threshold, so the
company doesn’t have to pay overtime. For example, commissions and incentive payments are
nondiscretionary bonuses.
Andrew Challenger: Year-end
bonuses are still in fashion.
But discretionary bonuses, like a holiday bonus that employees aren’t guaranteed and that isn’t based on
their performance during the year, cannot count toward compensation when it comes to overtime
eligibility. 57
Challenger says when employers guarantee year-end gifts or bonuses, they lose their value as “a powerful improvement tool.… If
everybody expects to get one every single year, it’s not a tool that motivates people,” he says.
Looking Ahead
Downsizing Christmas?
The Wall Street Journal’s Henninger predicts a future where Christmas has become so generic a holiday that it has less stature than
Thanksgiving in American culture, a day that religious Christian families observe at home and church, but that others ignore. 58
While that may sound extreme, workplace consultants and lawyers, in the name of diversity, are pushing businesses to downsize
Christmas to fit in the same-size box as other wintertime holidays, such as Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the winter solstice, which for now, at
least, are celebrated by far fewer Americans.
In fact, the declining population of American Christians—down 8 percent since 2007, according to the Pew Research Center—means
employees of other religions and cultures, including some who celebrate Christmas and some who don’t, will fill a greater number of office
cubicles. 59 So businesses that do not accommodate their diverse traditions during the holiday season—and year-round, for that matter
—could find themselves unable to recruit enough qualified employees.
Challenger foresees a steadily growing economy with low unemployment that creates more jobs and gives employees more choices
about where to work, and therefore more leverage with employers and potential employers when it comes to compensation, benefits and
company culture.
And the holiday season, he says, “is a season when a lot of company culture can be gained or lost.… If [companies] want to keep their
best employees and attract the best employees out in the market, increasing culture and employee morale is extremely important.”
Favoring the customs of Christian employees over those with different—or no—beliefs, he says, can be bad for morale now but disastrous
for it in a future with an even more diverse workforce.
WorldatWork’s Chou says most businesses, if they haven’t already made their holiday celebrations either more generic or more inclusive,
are at least aware that the time is coming. Company holiday parties and decorations that once exclusively featured the language, music,
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food and symbols of Christmas by now include displays that recognize the customs and cultures of their non-Christian employees.
He sees a future holiday-season workplace where “things will not look too much different.… ‘Happy holidays’ has kind of become the
general, let’s-be-safe-and-include-everybody. In five years, some will still do decorations, and some won’t.”
In fact, Chou says, the December holidays of the future are unlikely to be as different from today as today’s are from those of 20 years ago.
“My gut tells me that there has been the curve of change over the last 20 years” that brought an influx of diverse employees to the
workplace. “It has been fairly steep,” he says.
So was the diversity learning curve. Two decades ago, recalls Chou, who was working as a compensation and benefits specialist at a
large company then, “if you said ‘merry Christmas’ might be offensive, they would look at you and say, ‘Are you from Mars?’ It wasn’t even
on their radar.”
Now, Chou adds, “it’s not like it’s a new concept. They understand the discussion, even though they may not agree with it.”
Going forward, he says, “I believe that the rate of change … is going to be a lot less.…You’re not forging new ground with most
employees.”
About the Author
Sharon O’Malley, an instructor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, is a freelance writer, editor,
consultant and trainer who has published articles in dozens of newspapers and magazines, including The Arizona Republic, USA Today,
Ladies’ Home Journal, Working Woman and American Demographics. For SAGE Business Researcher, she has written reports on
Shopping Malls, Internships, the Free Economy, Mortgage Finance and Product Recalls.
Chronology
1600s-1700s
Christmas is banned in England, Massachusetts.
1647
Original “war” on Christmas results in England canceling the holiday. King Charles II restores it in 1660.
1659
Celebrating Christmas is outlawed in in Puritan-dominated Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1681
Massachusetts’ ban on Christmas ends.
1800s-1910s
Christmas becomes mainstream holiday.
1819
Washington Irving writes “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent.,” portraying Christmas as a holiday for both gentry
and commoners.
1843
Charles Dickens pens classic holiday tale “A Christmas Carol,” embracing Christmas as a time for charity and
goodwill.
1870
Dec. 25 becomes a federal holiday in the United States.
1920s-1950s
Anti-Semites, far right decry what they call attack on Christmas.
1921
Automaker and anti-Semite Henry Ford accuses Jews of trying to ban Christmas.
1941
Congress moves Thanksgiving holiday to third Thursday in November to lengthen Christmas shopping season.
1959
Far-right John Birch Society publishes pamphlet claiming Communists aim to “take Christ out of Christmas” and that
the United Nations is waging an “assault on Christmas.”
1960s-1990s
High court deems Christmas symbols legal.
1966
Philadelphia police coin the term “Black Friday” because of traffic and pedestrian control problems on the day after
Thanksgiving when shoppers descend on stores.
1984
U.S. Supreme Court rules nativity scene in a city holiday display in Rhode Island does not violate First Amendment
because of its use in an otherwise secular display.
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1989
U.S. Supreme Court calls Santa Claus, reindeer, Christmas tree, lights, carolers and other Christmas-related symbols
“secular.”
1999
Anti-immigration crusader Peter Brimelow begins website VDare.com to spotlight organizations replacing “Christmas”
with “holidays.”
2000s-Present
Modern-day “war” on Christmas begins.
2002
Black Friday surpasses Saturday before Christmas as busiest shopping day of the year.
2003
Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan calls curbs on Christmas “hate crimes against Christianity.”
2004
Fox News Channel’s “O’Reilly Factor” with host Bill O’Reilly airs segment on “Christmas Under Siege.”
2005
Fox News Channel host John Gibson publishes “The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred
Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought.” … Boston labels city’s decorated tree a “holiday tree”; tree farmer who
donated it says he would rather have put it through a wood chipper than call it that.… Then-U.S. House Speaker Dennis
Hastert renames Holiday Tree on West Lawn of U.S. Capitol the “Capitol Christmas Tree,” its name before a switch in
the late 1990s.… Catholic League calls for boycott of Walmart after employee tells customer Christmas is a blend of
many religions. Walmart apologizes; boycott ends.… Committee to Save Merry Christmas announces boycott of Sears
for hanging “Happy Holidays” signs in stores instead of “Merry Christmas.” Same group congratulates Macy’s for
returning “Merry Christmas” to store signs and advertising.… American Family Association boycotts Target for erasing
“Christmas” from in-store, online and print advertising; 700,000 members sign petition. Target reverts to using
“Christmas.”
2007
American Family Association members flood Lowe’s with complaints after home-improvement chain’s ads refer to
“family trees” instead of “Christmas trees.” Lowe’s calls it a mistake.… Freedom From Religion Foundation sues
Green Bay, Wis., saying a nativity scene at City Hall infringes on residents’ First Amendment rights; suit is dropped
after display is removed. This becomes first of dozens of similar lawsuits spurred by religious Christmas symbols on
public property.
2008
Wall Street Journal columnist Daniel Henninger writes that the push against Christmas is part of a trend that erases
lines of moral responsibility.… U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission clarifies position that trees, wreaths,
Santa Claus and other commercial Christmastime symbols are secular and do not violate the law.
2015
Starbucks issues plain red Christmas cup, devoid of holiday symbols, to widespread complaints from critics who call
them anti-Christmas.… Presidential candidate Donald J. Trump suggests boycott of Starbucks over the cup.
Resources
Bibliography
Books
Bowler, Gerry, “Christmas in the Crosshairs: Two Thousand Years of Denouncing and Defending the World’s Most Celebrated Holiday,”
Oxford University Press, 2017. The author of “Santa Claus: A Biography” and “The World Encyclopedia of Christmas” chronicles the tugof-war over Christmas by tracing the holiday’s history from the original Christmas Eve to the present day.
Gibson, John, “The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought,” Penguin
Books, 2006. Conservative Fox News Radio host John Gibson warns readers that the so-called war on Christmas is heating up and
blames secular liberals for prolonging it through litigation, protests and threats.
Harvey, Robin and Meyers, Stephanie (editors), “The Atheist’s Guide to Christmas,” Harper Perennial, 2010 Forty-two atheist scientists,
comedians, philosophers and writers contributed to this collection of essays about how nonbelievers can enjoy the holiday season.
Palin, Sarah, “Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas,” Broadside Books, 2013. The former Republican vice
presidential candidate calls for putting Christian values back into the Christmas season and stresses the importance of acknowledging the
birth of Jesus in public displays and school concerts.
Articles
“An employers’ guide to Christmas: office parties, religious discrimination and bonuses,” Personnel Today, Dec. 2, 2010,
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http://tinyurl.com/z6ewr5y. The U.K.’s largest free-access human resource website offers tips for employers as they decide how to handle
year-end parties, bonuses and decorations.
Friedersdorf, Conor, “Christmas Is Kicking Ass in the War on Christmas,” The Atlantic, Dec. 20, 2013, http://tinyurl.com/h8fobvy. An
Atlantic magazine staff writer reviews the history of the debate between Christians and atheists over publicly displayed religious
symbolism during the Christmas season.
Henninger, Daniel, “The Year Christmas Died,” The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 23, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/hc432xy. The newspaper’s
deputy editorial page director laments the absence of Christmas symbols, both secular and religious, in the holiday window displays of
New York’s most iconic department stores.
Honan, Daniel, “Penn Jillette: There’s No War on Christmas. Let’s Just Spread the Joy, Man!” Big Think, November 2015,
http://tinyurl.com/agfkfzv. The magician and comedian takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the battle over Christmas and advocates saying
“happy holidays” instead of “merry Christmas.”
Thornton, Bruce, “The Stakes In The War On Christmas,” Hoover Institution, Dec. 16, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/zk8lhpo. A research fellow at
Stanford University’s Hoover Institution says that the “war” on Christmas “is really a war on religion.”
Reports and Studies
“America’s Changing Religious Landscape,” Pew Research Center, http://tinyurl.com/ldnxabw. A nonpartisan “fact tank” reveals that the
Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not consider themselves members of any
organized religion is increasing.
“Celebrating Christmas and the Holidays, Then and Now,” Pew Research Center, http://tinyurl.com/nxzzzx7. In a study of religion and public
life, the research center finds that nine in 10 Americans celebrate Christmas, while three-quarters say they believe in the virgin birth of
Jesus. About half view Christmas as a religious holiday.
“Holiday Bonus Survey: 78% Will Offer Some Sort of Year-End Gift,” Challenger, Gray & Christmas, http://tinyurl.com/hxl7uaz. On the heels
of a U.S. Department of Labor rule that changes salary requirements for overtime pay, the talent management consultancy says 78 percent
of companies will offer employees a gift or bonus this year.
“National Retail Federation Forecasts Holiday Sales to Increase 3.6%,” National Retail Federation, Oct. 4, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/hdnthw4. The world’s largest retail trade association issues its annual forecast for holiday sales in 2016, predicting a 3.6
percent increase over last year’s season.
“SHRM Survey Findings: 2015 End-of-Year Holiday Activities,” Society for Human Resource Management, 2015,
http://tinyurl.com/jj3bwmt. The world’s largest human resource professional society tallies membership trends for holiday parties, year-end
bonuses, gift exchanges, online shopping during work hours and participation in charitable giving.
“2016 Holiday Party Survey: 80% Having Parties, Scaling Down,” Challenger, Gray & Christmas, http://tinyurl.com/jqrtful. An annual survey
by the outplacement firm shows that 80 percent of American businesses plan to host a holiday party for employees this year, down from 90
percent in 2015.
The Next Step
Christmas Spending
Coles, Sarah, “The average person spends £1,500 on Christmas – how can we afford it?” AOL, Nov. 21, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/j622u48.
An American Express survey found that the average person in the United Kingdom will spend the equivalent of about $1,900 on Christmas
celebrations during the 2016 season.
Koehle, Angie, “WalletHub: Holiday spending to hit $656 billion this year, up 3.6 percent from last year,” ABC 15 Arizona, Nov. 14, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/jaw8v3x. U.S. holiday spending is expected to increase to nearly $656 billion this year, with more than one-third of
shoppers set to exceed their holiday budgets from last year, according to data from the personal finance website WalletHub.
Wahba, Phil, “About 10 Million More Americans Shopped Online Than In Stores Over Black Friday Weekend,” Fortune, Nov. 27, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/hflgzrl. An estimated 108.5 million Americans shopped online over the Thanksgiving weekend, more than the 99.1 million
who went to stores, according to the National Retail Federation.
Seasonal Marketing
Coffee, Patrick, “Amazon’s Touching Interfaith Ad Appeals to the Better Angels of a Divided World,” AdWeek, Nov. 18, 2016,
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http://tinyurl.com/zac5xyp. Amazon brings religions together with its new holiday ad, which features an Anglican vicar and a Muslim imam
as friends despite spiritual differences.
Dillet, Romain, “Apple’s holiday ad is all about inclusion,” Tech Crunch, Nov. 21, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/jqjz3yh. Apple’s latest holiday
advertisement, featuring a lonely Frankenstein’s monster whose appearance is ultimately accepted, focuses on inclusion during the
season.
Halzack, Sarah, “Target’s plan to win Christmas: ‘10 days of deals,’ more Spanish-language ads, and a musical with John Legend,” The
Washington Post, Oct. 25, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/hkwfzxl. Target announced plans to bring back its “10 days of deals” promotion, offer
free shipping and include more Spanish-language advertisements as part of its holiday marketing tactics.
Starbucks
“Starbucks brings back traditional Christmas designs,” The Associated Press, CBS News, Nov. 9, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/ok9xvat.
Following outrage last year over Starbucks’ minimalist red holiday cups, the coffee retailer is returning to decorated holiday cups for the
2016 season.
Rowe, Dominique, “Why Starbucks’ Christmas Cups Are Special This Year,” Fortune, Nov. 10, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/zzl6n6v. Starbucks’
13 new holiday cups feature seasonal designs created by 13 women from six countries to “express the shared spirit of the holidays.”
Taylor, Kate, “Furious customers are accusing Starbucks of ‘political brainwashing’ over green cups,” Business Insider, Nov. 3, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/ze4kd5t. Some customers expressed anger when Starbucks released new “unity” cups, mistaking them for the annual
holiday cups and accusing the coffee chain of having a liberal bias and being anti-Christmas.
War on Christmas
“Christmas Day declared public holiday in Victoria after Government backflip,” Australian Broadcasting Corp., Nov. 24, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/hwlmx92. The small-business minister in the Australian state of Victoria reversed a decision not to make Christmas Day a
public holiday after a backlash from the federal government and unions.
Huriash, Lisa J., “Plantation loses lawsuit against family over massive Christmas display,” Sun Sentinel, Oct. 28, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/jgemnk9. The city of Plantation, Fla., lost its court fight against a local couple and their Christmas lighting display, which
the city said drew excessive crowds and created a public nuisance.
Steingart, Jon, “Jehovah’s Witness Says Firing Was for Not Saying ‘Merry Christmas,’” Bloomberg, Nov. 16, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/jbvp7uc. A Jehovah’s Witness alleges religious discrimination in a Tennessee lawsuit, maintaining he was fired for
refusing to wish customers a merry Christmas at his job.
Organizations
Alliance Defending Freedom
15100 N. 90th St., Scottsdale, AZ 85260
800-835-5233
https://www.adflegal.org
A Christian legal organization that advocates for religious freedom, the sanctity of life and marriage and family by funding cases and
training attorneys.
American Atheists
PO Box 158, Cranford, NJ 07016
908-276-7300
www.atheists.org
An organization that defends the civil liberties of atheists and advocates for the absolute separation of government and religion.
American Center for Law and Justice
PO Box 90555, Washington, DC 20090
800-342-2255
www.aclj.org
An international organization that litigates cases involving the free-speech rights of abortion foes and the constitutional rights of religious
groups to have equal access to public facilities.
American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad St., 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004
212-549-2500
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https://aclu.org
Nearly 100 years old, the ACLU defends and seeks to preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and U.S.
law.
American Family Association
P.O. Drawer 2440, Tupelo, MS 33803
662-844-5036
http://www.afa.net/
A pro-family Christian organization promoting a culture based on biblical teachings.
Freedom From Religion Foundation
P.O. Box 750, Madison, WI 53701
608-256-8900
https://ffrf.org/
A nonprofit organization that promotes the separation of church and state and seeks to educate the public on matters relating to
nontheism.
National Retail Federation
1101 New York Ave., N.W., Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20005
202-783-7971
www.nrf.com
The world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street
merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and internet retailers in 45 countries.
Society for Human Resource Management
1800 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314
800-238-7476
https://www.shrm.org
The world’s largest association for human resource professionals, representing 285,000 members in more than 165 countries.
WorldatWork
14040 N. Northsight Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260
877-951-9191
www.worldatwork.org
A membership organization for human resources professionals that bills itself as “the total rewards association.” Its focus is
compensation, benefits and work/life effectiveness.
Notes
[1] Daniel Henninger, “The Year Christmas Died,” The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 23, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/hc432xy.
[2] Jonathan Forani, “Enchanted forest replaces Santa’s workshop in Hudson’s Bay’s holiday window displays,” Nov. 3, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/zb2gyym.
[3] Ibid.
[4] “Changing U.S Religious Landscape,” Pew Research Center, April 30, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/mg9jcn9; Michael Lipka, “5 facts about
Christmas in America,” Pew Research Center, Dec. 21, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/h7rj55b.
[5] Lipka, ibid.
[6] “Highlighted Court Victories,” Freedom From Religion Foundation, undated, http://tinyurl.com/zx5bd3l.
[7] Megan Spinelli, “Painted Nativity Scene on a Tennessee McDonald’s Window Goes Viral,” ABC News, Dec. 18, 2015,
http://tinyurl.com/grp2ppf.
[8] Greg Richter, “War on Christmas? Microsoft Omits ‘God’ From ‘Peace on Earth’ Ad,” Newsmax, Dec. 13, 2015,
http://tinyurl.com/jv2bkum.
[9] “EEOC Compliance Manual,” Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, July 22, 2008, http://tinyurl.com/zqqeq8h.
[10] “Allegheny County v. Greater Pittsburgh ACLU,” U.S. Supreme Court, July 3, 1989, http://tinyurl.com/zbosjv4.
[11] “Lawsuit Claims Firing Over ‘Merry Christmas,” The Washington Post, Dec. 24, 2008, http://tinyurl.com/6uabpe.
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[12] “Belk, Inc., To Pay $55,000 To Settle EEOC Religious Discrimination Suit,” press release, Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, March 16, 2011, http://tinyurl.com/zlthhu3.
[13] “Purton v. Marriott International Inc.,” Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 1, California, July 31, 2013, http://tinyurl.com/zz69lq5.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Kyla Asbury, “Mingo Co. woman accuses obstetrician of sex discrimination,” West Virginia Record, Feb. 26, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/zosfxrn.
[16] “ ‘Tis the Season! Avoiding Holiday Party Liability,” Greenberg, Whitcombe & Takeuchi, December 2013, http://tinyurl.com/zkt526n.
[17] “Holiday Party Survey: Companies Plan to Spend More This Year,” Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., Nov. 15, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/hlenasm.
[18] Krystina Gustafson, “JC Penney will be open on Thanksgiving,” CNBC, Nov. 2, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/jsx5shq.
[19] Jane Boyd Thomas and Cara Peters, “An exploratory investigation of Black Friday consumption rituals,” International Journal of Retail
& Distribution Management, 2011, http://tinyurl.com/hf6dbnz.
[20] Sarah Mulé, “Mall of America joins list of businesses closing on Thanksgiving,” UPI, Oct. 8, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/j7aymhr.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Tyrel Linkhorn, “Stores rethink Thanksgiving,” The Blade, Nov. 6, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/h7u2n8g.
[23] Doug G. Ware, “ ‘Black Friday’ losing ground to ‘cyber anyday’ for holiday shopping, numbers show,” UPI, Nov. 30, 2015,
http://tinyurl.com/hqw5w5z.
[24] Ibid.
[25] “Adobe Data Shows Top Sellers on Black Friday: Samsung TVs, iPad Air 2, Microsoft XBox, Lego Star Wars, Shopkin Dolls,”
Business Wire, Nov. 27, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/gml9gxj.
[26] Ware, op. cit.
[27] Javier E. David, “Black Friday deals pulled in more shoppers, with record amounts spent via the Web,” CNBC, Nov. 27, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/gw6ylxr.
[28] Josh Hafner, “To open or not? Inside stores’ Thanksgiving dilemma,” USA Today, Oct. 19, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/jdq7onb.
[29] “National Retail Federation Forecasts Holiday Sales to Increase 3.6%,” press release, National Retail Federation, Oct. 4, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/hdnthw4.
[30] “Retailers to Prepare for Post-Election Holiday Shopping,” National Retail Federation, Oct. 27, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/j8llbpu.
[31] Christopher Klein, “When Massachusetts Banned Christmas,” History, Dec. 22, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/z9yqqtq.
[32] Ibid.
[33] Daniel Denvir, “A Short History of the War on Christmas,” Politico, Dec. 16, 2013, http://tinyurl.com/p6mpzj6.
[34] Ibid.
[35] Alex Altman, “A Brief History of The War on Christmas,” Time magazine, Dec. 24, 2008, http://tinyurl.com/h5ytph9.
[36] Paul L. Choi, “Here Comes the Grinch: Creche Wars,” The Harvard Crimson, Dec. 14, 1983, http://tinyurl.com/h4cjxqp.
[37] “Lynch v. Donnelly,” U.S. Supreme Court, March 5, 1984, http://tinyurl.com/z6tzmse.
[38] Allegheny County v. Greater Pittsburgh ACLU, op. cit.
[39] Denvir, op. cit.
[40] Altman, op. cit.
[41] Marc Gunther, “Christmas jeers,” CNN Money, Dec. 13, 2005, http://tinyurl.com/akmwp.
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[42] Randy Hall, “Lowe’s Apologizes for ‘Family Trees’ in Christmas Catalog,” CNS News, July 7, 2008, http://tinyurl.com/j4olhlt.
[43] Jill Disis, “What’s with the new Starbucks holiday cups?” CNN Money, Nov. 1, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/jugbp2x.
[44] Husna Haq, “Starbucks vs. Dunkin’ Donuts: Why faith-driven buyers are choosing Dunkin’,” Christian Science Monitor, Nov. 11, 2015,
http://tinyurl.com/pu3e2a5.
[45] Mark Macias, “The real winner in Starbucks red-cup controversy, CNBC, Nov. 13, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/o5qqzk2.
[46] AJ Agrawal, “What Starbucks’ Red Cup Controversy Teaches Us About Negative PR,” Inc., Nov. 24, 2015,
http://tinyurl.com/jmmgm8q.
[47] “Starbucks Green Cup Celebrates Community,” Starbucks, Nov. 1, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/jyu4xcp.
[48] Disis, op. cit.
[49] “Starbucks Red Holiday Cups Will Return November 10,” Starbucks, Nov. 4, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/zdmn4bc.
[50] “Starbucks Unveils 2016 Holiday Red Cups,” Starbucks, Nov. 9, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/je8jckb.
[51] “Starbucks reports record annual profit,” BBC News, Nov. 4, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/z8zcsat.
https://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime/final2016/webinarfaq.htm
[52] “The Overtime Rule,” U.S. Department of Labor, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/zhonwa7.
[53] Melanie Trottman and Ruth Simon, “Court Halts Overtime Rule, Leaving Employers in Limbo,” The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 22, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/jdjqvgv.
[54] F. Vincent Vernuccio and Jeremy Lott, “Obama’s new overtime rule could sting workers,” The Detroit News, July 5, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/j6pn9z3.
[55] “SHRM Survey Findings: 2015 End-of-Year/Holiday Activities,” Society for Human Resource Management, Nov. 20, 2015,
http://tinyurl.com/htgohr5.
[56] “Give and Receive. See How Generous Companies Are During the Holidays,” Accounting Principals, Oct. 18, 2016,
http://tinyurl.com/hbps5tk.
[57] “Questions and Answers from the General Information Overtime Webinars,” U.S. Department of Labor, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/j5fntf9.
[58] Henninger, op. cit.
[59] “Changing U.S Religious Landscape,” Pew Research Center, April 30, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/mg9jcn9.
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The Business of Christmas
SAGE Business Researcher