It's Okay To Say "It"

It's Okay To Say "It"

by Marilyn Mackenzie

The last time I worked in retail, it was back in the fall and going into Christmas in 2005.  I had to quit before Christmas, though, because my boss - who said she understood my fibromyalgia since her mom had it - scheduled me for way too many hours.  I needed an every other day schedule, so I could rest enough to be ready for the next work day.  Then, the last three days I worked, I ended up bumping my hands and it tore upen my Darn Thin Skin.  Between that and getting sick because my boss wanted me to work too many hours and the fact that my pains screamed so badly that I had to take pain pills while I worked, I finally gave up and quit.

During my three months, I spent a majority of my time putting up Christmas trees and Christmas decor and selling Christmas merchandise.  Even though out entire department was transformed into a magical Christmas Wonderland (so much so that even the local news media came to take pictures), we were discouraged from saying, "Merry Christmas" to anyone, lest it might offend them.

Excuse me?  If I was helping someone find special ornaments for his/her Christmas tree, talking about his/her family plans, suggesting gift ideas in addition to the Christmas ornaments he/she was purchasing...would I really offend the customer by saying, "Merry Christmas"???  Come on.

Now I admit that we sometimes had Jewish customers who came into the department trying to find a special Christmas ornament for a friend.  But when that happened, the customer usually told us that was the case, and we would be smart enough to refrain from saying, "Merry Christmas" to that customer.

In recent years, many retail stores have insisted the their employees not say "Merry Christmas" to anyone, even if he/she knows the person...say from church.  Uttering the words, "Merry Christmas", I guess, might offend someone in listening range.  Give me a break.

American Family Association has come up with one suggested solution to whether or not an employee should send us off with a "Merry Christmas" greeting.  It's a button that one can wear that says very clearly, "It's okay to say Merry Christmas."

Hubby and I ordered some.  I think they were $9.00 for ten buttons.  We'll have to give some away to neighbors or some of our church friends, I guess.  The price goes down the more you order, so one could get enough to buy for an entire Sunday School class or church at even less.

If you're interested, here's the link for ordering some of your own.   (Don't worry.  I won't get anything for sending you to this web site.)

It's Okay to Say Merry Christmas