This Christmas season, whether a store greets you with “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas” makes all the difference where you should do your shopping, says a Christian legal group.

Liberty Counsel is urging Christians to fight back to save Christmas from being erased from the public sphere by shopping at stores that honour instead of disregard Christmas.

The Florida-based legal group released the first draft of its “Naughty & Nice” checklist Monday, November12, to advise consumers on which businesses to support.

Businesses and retailers are placed on the “Nice” list if they recognize Christmas and on the “Naughty” list if they censor or exclude the December 25 holiday.

“Every consumer should make a list and check it twice, stop patronizing retailers which are naughty and shop at those which are nice,” said Mathew D. Staver, the group’s founder and chairman.

“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,” added Staver.

Home Depot was among the stores that made the “Naughty” list. Phrases such as “Holiday Gift Centre” and “Holiday Decorations” adorn the store’s website without any mention of Christmas. Even Christmas trees are simply described as “Artificial Trees.”

Other business on the “Naughty” list included K-Mart, Nordstorm, Best Buy, Gap, Sprint, and Office Max, among others.

Some “Nice” businesses included Amazon, Macy’s, JC Penny, WalMart, and American Eagle Outfitters.

“Customers have a choice,” said Staver, “and they will not patronize corporate Scrooges.”

The list was released as part of Liberty Counsel’s fifth annual Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign, in which the group is pledging to be a “Friend” to those entities which do not censor Christmas and a “Foe” to those that do.

The “Naughty or Nice” list was compiled from information gathered by individual consumers and is updated whenever new information is received.

Click here to view the complete “Naughty & Nice” checklist.

By Lawrence Jones
Reprinted with permission by The Christian Post