By Tim Wildmon
December 15, 2004

(AgapePress) - We wish you a winter solstice, we wish you a winter solstice, we wish you a winter solstice and a happy new year.

Don't my new secularized lyrics for this holiday classic just bless your heart? But then again, can anything secular actually "bless"? Makes you wonder. But now I am going to have to figure out what do with the "happy new year" part because -- as you know -- the year A.D. 2005 is 2005 because it has been 2005 years since You Know Who was born. A.D. is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase (in) anno Domini which translates, "in the year of our Lord." As in the year of our Lord You Know Who.

My new corporate "hero" in this march to protect Americans from Christmas is retail giant Target. It's now had the courage to kick the Salvation Army out from in front of their stores. I'm serious. Target, citing its no-solicitation policy which has never applied to the Salvation Army until this year, said it wanted to provide a "distraction free shopping environment in which to shop."

I guess complaints were pouring into corporate headquarters from across the country that Target customers felt "distracted" by the volunteer bell-ringers with the red kettles and it was hurting the corporate image and business. Not harassed, not intimidated, not accosted, but the volunteer bell ringers were causing customers to be "distracted."

Okay. Have you been to any retail store like Target recently? There are many displays inside these stores that are meant to "distract" the shopper so that he or she will purchase whatever it is the "distraction" is meant to draw them to. What kind of excuse is that? Pardon the pun, but I'm not buying it.

Last year the Salvation Army was able to raise $94 million through the red kettles placed in front of various stores across America to help the poor and needy among us. Of that, $9 million was raised through kettles in front of Target stores. So the Salvation Army is going to be missing almost one-tenth of the money they raised from 2003.

So when you see the red kettle in front of Wal-Mart (or other stores) the next couple of weeks, let me encourage you to put more in than you normally would to help make up the loss. (By the way, Wal-Mart has publicly said that it enthusiastically welcomes the Salvation Army.)

The irony here is that Target is going make a killing off Christmas. Which is the celebration of the birth of You Know Who. Which is why the Salvation Army is there in the first place, because it is demonstrating love, care and concern for our fellow man, which is one of the things You Know Who taught about.

Target wants to profit from Christmas inside its stores; it just doesn't want to encourage the charity of Christmas outside its stores any longer. What a disgrace.