Poll:
Are you offended if someone says 'Happy Holidays' to you?
DALLAS — We've all heard the Dr. Seuss story of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
First Baptist Church of Dallas says the real Grinch is any business that says "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."
FBC has launched a Web site — GrinchAlert.com — to identify those who are taking Christ out of Christmas.
"People are tired of political correctness that some way wants to remove the acknowledgment of Christmas," explained Robert Jeffress, senior pastor at the downtown Dallas megachurch.
Jeffress believes there is a war on Christmas. But at Mi Cocina, a Mexican restaurant chain that was the first business to make the Grinch's "naughty" list, owners say if there is such a war, they're on Jesus' side.
"We believe this season is an opportunity to serve and to minister to everyone, because Christ is a gift that God sent us for everyone," said Mi Cocina's Heather Washburne.
So while the restaurant asks its employees to say "Happy Holidays" to customers — trying to be inclusive of all faiths — they also served 600 holiday meals to families who lost a loved one in the wars, and are a major supporter of Rev. S.M. Wright's big charity, Christmas in the Park.
"No, I don't think they belong on the Grinch list," Wright said. "They are very generous, and so many lives are being touched in the South Dallas community."
Which raises the question: Which counts more? The word or the deeds?
Rev. Jeffress says Christians should expect both. "This is not our forcing people to do one thing or another," he said. "There is no hint of a boycott or anything like this. We are just providing a public forum on the Web site for people to be able to discuss the issue."
Jeffress notes that because of the political implications, some Christians are actually offended by the term "Happy Holidays."
But in Crowley — where the sign on the lawn of City Hall says "Happy Holidays" — City Manager Truitt Gilbreath said he's never heard a complaint about it until the FBC's Web site was established.
Gilbreath notes that the sign says "Happy Holidays" because it goes up before Thanksgiving and it stays up until after New Year's Day.
E-mail greaves@wfaa.com
