Liberty Counsel Announces the 'Naughty & Nice' List for Christmas 2009

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 /Christian Newswire/ -- As part of Liberty Counsel's seventh annual "Friend or Foe" Christmas Campaign, Liberty Counsel has released its "Naughty & Nice" checklist to help consumers know what businesses they should or should not be supporting this Christmas. The list catalogs retailers which either censor ("Naughty") or recognize ("Nice") Christmas. The complete list can be found at www.LC.org. The list is compiled from information provided by individual consumers and is updated whenever new information is received.

Comparing 2009 to the years of 2005 to 2007, there are far more retailers that recognize Christmas this year in their marketing and advertisements. When Liberty Counsel first created the Naughty & Nice list, the number of retailers in the "Naughty" column equaled the number listed in the "Nice" column. However, that trend began to change during the two Christmas seasons of 2007 and 2008. Now, the Nice column far exceeds the Naughty column.

In 2005, Wal-Mart censored Christmas, calling "Christmas Trees" "Holiday Trees." That same year Walmart forbid its employees from returning the greeting "Merry Christmas" to customers who initiated the greeting. But, after pressure from consumers, Walmart subsequently changed course. Walmart, like K-Mart, Sears, and a host of other retailers moved from the Naughty column to the Nice column. On the other hand, CVS continues to remain in the Naughty column despite the fact that its competitor, Walgreens, is in the Nice column. This year, consumers have a choice of whether to patronize CVS or Walgreens. Last year consumers had a choice to patronize Circuit City (on the Naughty list) or Best Buy (on the Nice list). This year, Circuit City is not in either column as it declared bankruptcy and dissolved earlier in 2009.

As the biggest shopping holiday of the year, Christmas should be recognized by retailers who are profiting from it. Instead, many stores are calling it "The Holiday" and completely ignoring the fact that "The Holiday" is actually called "Christmas."

Mathew D. Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented about the "Naughty & Nice" list: "Every consumer should make a list and check it twice, stop patronizing retailers which are naughty and shop at those which are nice. Retailers which seek to profit from Christmas while pretending it does not exist should realize they have offended the vast majority of Americans who enjoy Christmas. Customers have a choice, and they will not patronize corporate Scrooges. The success of the 'Naughty & Nice' list illustrates the power of the consumer to shape corporate policy. Consumers should compliment retailers which honor Christmas and tell those which do not why they are patronizing their competitors."

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