Wal-Mart brings ‘Merry Christmas’ back to stores

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart recently announced that it will use "Merry Christmas" in its stores again this year.

"We, quite frankly, have learned a lesson from last year," Linda Blakley, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, told USA Today. "We’re not afraid to use the term ‘Merry Christmas.’ We’ll use it early, and we’ll use it often."

During last year’s Christmas season, several groups, including the American Family Association and the Catholic League, protested retail stores’ decisions to ban the religion-specific Merry Christmas in favor of the more general Happy Holidays.

So this year, Wal-Mart said it will air television ads mentioning Christmas, change the name of its seasonal decorating department back to "The Christmas Shop," post signs in stores counting down the days until Christmas, play Christmas carols throughout its stores and carry about 60 percent more merchandise with the label "Christmas" rather than "holiday," according to USA Today.