Wal-Mart Cancels Christmas

Wal-Mart officials say they meant no disrespect when a company e-mail described Christmas as a mix of world religions and suggested that its employees say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." But the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights is calling for a customer boycott until the world's largest retailer apologizes. Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Fogleman says the e-mail, which describes Christmas as a combination of world traditions from Siberian shamanism to Visigoth calendars, has been taken out of context. He says Wal-Mart encourages its employees to say "Happy Holidays" to be inclusive of celebrations from Thanksgiving to Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's as well as Christmas.