By Cheryl Wetzstein
Retailers shouldn't be shy about wishing customers a "Merry Christmas."
A new survey found that 67 percent of American adults prefer the holiday-specific greeting in seasonal advertising, while only 26 percent want to see "Happy Holidays."
There wasn't a gender gap in the answers: Both men and women like seeing "Merry Christmas" in store windows, according to Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, an independent polling company.
But from a political perspective, there was a sleighful of difference: 88 percent of Republicans wanted to see "Merry Christmas," while just 57 percent of Democrats favored it.
Scott Krugman, a spokesman for the National Retail Federation, said the "Merry Christmas" versus "Happy Holidays" issue has been around for a few years.
"I don't think it's a new issue" for the industry, Mr. Krugman said yesterday.In 2005, Target stores ditched the use of the word "Christmas" in promotional materials, but the retailer decided to resume using it after immense public pressure.
Also in 2005, Wal-Mart prohibited its employees from wishing customers "Merry Christmas," opting instead for "Happy Holidays." That decision was protested by religious groups, among them the Catholic League, which boycotted the retail giant. Wal-Mart announced during the 2006 holiday season that it would return to using the words "Merry Christmas."
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