Merry CHRISTmas!!!!

Last night we finally decorated our CHRISTMAS tree. That's right! Our CHRISTMAS tree. Not our holiday tree. Not seasonal tree. Not festive tree. Our CHRISTMAS tree. Each year we let the kids pick out a new ornament for our CHRISTMAS tree. Alyssa picked a Carebear and Trent of course got Darth Vader.

I just read an article in my local paper. I wanted to share.


Happy holidays? Retailers debate what to call season.

It looks like Christmas, smells like Christmas and feels like Christmas, but major retailers are shying away from the word and substituting "holiday," leaving shoppers confused, angry or pleased.

And the whole push-pull over marketing "Christmas" versus "holidays" has retailers scratching their heads about what to do next season.

* Lowe's home improvement chain removed banners reading "holiday trees" and replaced them with new ones reading "Christmas trees."
*Target stores are still being criticized for refusing to change their current "Gather round" theme. Last year, the chain banned Salvation Army bell-ringers, a decision that still stands.
* Even Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, made "Home for the Holidays" its seasonal theme. The chain also told employees in general to greet customers with "happy holidays," giving them permission to use the word "Christmas" — when they think it's appropriate.
"Our people are urged to be smart," said Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Fogelman. "If they see Christmas goods in a basket, they can say 'Merry Christmas.' If they see a menorah, they can say 'Happy Hanukkah.' Same for Kwanzaa."
Wal-Mart was the target of a short boycott a few weeks ago because visitors to its Web site could not search for Christmas items but could find Hanukkah and Kwanzaa gifts. The company quickly fixed the site to allow "Christmas" searches.
* Macy's flagship Atlanta store at Lenox Square sports a 70-foot, 14,500-pound white pine laden with 4,000 red and green lights but it's called Macy's Great Tree, not a Christmas tree, said spokeswoman Ellen Fructman.
"You will see the word Christmas and Merry Christmas in holiday items at every register," she said. "Nobody has complained about the name of the tree."
Locally and nationwide, governments, too, have struggled with the issue:
* In Atlanta, Gov. Sonny Perdue's office did a quick-step reversal last Friday, sending out a release saying he would light Georgia's "holiday tree" at the Governor's Mansion. But that "news" was quickly changed to say he would actually light a Christmas tree.
* At City Hall, Atlanta has a 15-foot tall "Christmas" tree, decorated with thousands of traditional lights and ornaments.
* In Boston, the parks department was excoriated for advertising the lighting of a "holiday tree." So many complaints flooded in that Mayor Thomas Menino said he considered it a Christmas tree.
* What was billed as the "Capitol Holiday Tree" in Washington was renamed last week the "Capitol Christmas Tree" at the order of House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.)

There should not be a debate about anything. I have always heard Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings and Merry Christmas. It will always be Merry Christmas, a Christmas Tree and Jesus' Birthday to me and my family. Everyone needs to stop trying to be so politically correct. What da hell is Kwanzaa anyway? I had never heard of it until I worked in retail about ten years ago. Did someone just one day make it up?