Wish Me A Merry Christmas - Press Releases

11/20/2007 – For Immediate Release

Photos Available: Williamsburg Local Churches Partner with the Wish Me A Merry Christmas Campaign to Reignite the Spirit of Christmas

Media covering this story range from the Christian Broadcasting Network (11/21/07) and KLOVE Radio Network - the National Christian Radio Network to the Daily Press (Newport News, Va.) and Focus on the Family with Dr. James Dobson (11/26/07)

Contact: Ashley Tarter, Media Relations at (800) 487-7137 ext. 709 or [email protected]

Williamsburg, VA - November 20, 2006 - 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) (http://www.wmamc.com)", store associate "elves" on the front lines may soon be in discord with corporate retail executives concerning "Holiday" cheer.

This year, six Williamsburg churches (Christian Life Center, Newtown United Methodist Church, Bethel Restoration Center, Grace Fellowship, King of Glory Lutheran Church and Greensprings Chapel)** have joined the Campaign to "put Christmas back in the Holidays."  Said Christian Life Center Pastor Tom Wells in support of the Campaign, "Christmas time is the best time to stand up for Christ in the simple things, and the simple thing being sharing Christ."  Pastor David Ford of New Town United Methodist Church agrees, "If our society loses sight of the Christ of Christmas we are lost. So let's give anyone and everyone permission to wish us a Merry Christmas!"

Campaign Manager and Founder, James City resident, Ashley Tarter said, "With tens of thousands of buttons distributed nationally, retailers will hearken the public's message that it is okay to wish, 'Merry Christmas,' once again.”

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.

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

Merry Christmas!