Wal-Mart: “Merry Christmas” Is Back

“Merry Christmas” is back at Wal-Mart, the company said today. A year after religious groups boycotted Wal-Mart for downplaying the Christian holiday, the company said it has embraced Christmas in its customer greetings, store displays and marketing. An excerpt:

“We, quite frankly, have learned a lesson from last year,” says Wal-Mart spokeswoman Linda Blakley. “We’re not afraid to use the term ‘Merry Christmas.’ We’ll use it early, and we’ll use it often.” Wal-Mart told about 7,000 associates of the plans at a conference last month and “was met with rapturous applause. … We know many of our customers will feel the same,” says John Fleming, Wal-Mart’s executive vice president of marketing.

Executives at Wal-Mart and Macys are encouraging employees to consider wishing customers holiday greetings that are appropriate to their race or religion, including “Happy Kwanzaa” or “Feliz Navidad.”