Media
covering this story
range from Focus on the
Family with Dr. James
Dobson, the Christian
Broadcasting Network 700
Club and KLOVE - the
National Christian Radio
Network to the Daily
Press (Newport News,
Va.), WAVY TV-10
(Norfolk, VA), WRVA AM
1140 (Clear Channel,
Richmond, VA), WTRM
(Winchester, VA) and
WVEC Channel 13
(Virginia Beach, VA)
Williamsburg, VA/
November 25, 2009
As
the attacks on Christmas
keep mounting, over
200,000 shoppers are
wearing buttons this
Christmas season that
proclaim a
straightforward message
to retailers: "It's OK,
Wish Me A Merry
Christmas™." Individuals
and churches around the
country are partnering
with the Wish Me A Merry
Christmas Campaign, a
campaign that stands up
to the powers and
principalities, “the
rulers of the darkness
of this age” (Eph 6:12),
that hopes to lovingly
announce the Light of
the World through the
wishing of “Merry
Christmas” again.
Pastors across the North
America have lined up to
support the Campaign.
"Our nation needs to
return to our Christian
roots and values. Trying
to remove the name of
Jesus Christ from
Christmas and from our
society must be
stopped,” says Reverend
John Mains of Fountain
of Life in Johnstown,
PA.
In
Ontario, Canada Pastor
Troy Dingwell says, "I
believe it is great that
there are still people
in North America who
still hold to our
Christian beliefs and
traditions."
Even Santa himself
humbly gives credit
where credit is due,
"Christmas is not just
about Santa and
presents. Christmas is
about the baby Jesus."
Sue
Fairchild and Reverend
James Ritter of the
Watsontown Baptist
Church in Watsontown, PA
sees the spirit of the
Campaign, "We are using
these buttons to
encourage our
congregation to step out
in their faith this
holiday season. We are
coming together to put
Christ back in
Christmas."
Said Campaign Manager,
Ashley Tarter, "After 3
years of campaigning on
behalf of Christmas, we
are seeing national
retailers changing their
advertising in favor of
Christmas with words,
symbols and music that
honor Christmas and
welcome shoppers into
their stores to
celebrate Christmas as a
culture again."
One
of the main goals of the
Campaign is to encourage
retailers to allow their
employees to say “Merry
Christmas”. Stores such
as Barnes and Noble and
Victoria’s Secret
continually push
Christmas out of their
stores by failing to use
displays with religious
overture and refusing
the convivial greeting
to be wished at
checkout. Since 96% of
Americans celebrate
Christmas (Gallup Poll,
2004), it's likely that
the store cashiers would
prefer to wish their
customers "Merry
Christmas" as well. In
fact 88% of Americans
state that "It's okay to
wish 'Merry Christmas'."
(Gallup Poll). Perhaps
this year, with over
200,000 buttons
circulating amongst
shoppers, retailers will
finally get the message
and the war on Christmas
will be brought to an
end.
The
national Wish Me A Merry
Christmas Campaign is
appealing to retailers
to "put Christmas back
in the holidays" with
two straightforward
petitions:
* To actively retract
adverse corporate
holiday wishing
policies, by returning
to the traditional and
explicit "Merry
Christmas" phrase; and
* To 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 into Canada
individuals and churches
have purchased hundreds
of thousands of the red
and green, "It's OK,
Wish Me A Merry
Christmas,"
ornament-like buttons to
wear and share.
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!
*
Gallup Poll 2004, PDFs
available at http://wmamc.com/millionbuttongoal/media.html
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).
For a list of cities
where the "It's OK Wish
Me A Merry Christmas"
buttons have been
distributed, please see:
http://www.wmamc.com/charterchurches/find_charterchurches.html
