Why keep the word Christmas out of holiday displays?

Even at Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores Inc., which now encourages its sales associates to wish people Merry Christmas, the phrase is thick with potential problems.

"Our policy remains that our stores will reflect the diversity of our customers," says Federated spokesman Jim Sluzewski. "Our intention is to make every customer welcome and appreciated whether they celebrate Christmas or other holidays."

That means associates can say Merry Christmas but are not required to offer those wishes of Christmas tidings and goodwill.

Still, Federated has reversed field from years before and now warmly and overtly welcomes the holiday.

"The Fountain Place Macy's has a sign on the first floor that specifically says Merry Christmas," Sluzewski said. "There are Merry Christmas electronic gift cards at every register."

Still, Christmas is not exactly brimming with lights and buzzers at the company's Macys.com Web site.

Try to find the word Christmas. For instance, on the opening page, the company suggests that the best deals of the season are now available - but it doesn't say the "Christmas" season anywhere. "Holiday," however, is used five times on that opening Web page.

Other stores like Best Buy, Target and Sears offer plenty of winter wonderlands, holiday bells, evergreens and lots of cloying songs about mangers and holly, but the word Christmas is strangely absent.

Why the disconnect?

Years ago retailers deleted Christmas from store displays and marketing materials because stores did not want to upset or alienate shoppers who did not celebrate the Christian holiday. But political correctness was a pendulum that swung too far. How could stores ignore Christmas on one hand but count on Christmas spending to fatten the top and bottom lines of the balance sheet?

It went too far, and Federated, which has more than 850 stores in 45 states and employs 210,000, realized in recent years that it was time to again recognize Christmas in its promotions for the 2006 holiday season.

Retail giant Wal-Mart this year has also wrapped up Christmas in a nice bow and produced Christmas-specific advertising.

It will have a "Days 'til Christmas" count down sign outside stores, gift cards that cry "Merry Christmas" and a policy that store greeters may, if they wish, offer a Merry Christmas welcome to customers.

Also, Wal-Mart has told its 7,000 managers and associates during a merchandise conference in September to not be shy about spreading Christmas cheer.

When Wal-Mart's John Fleming, executive vice president of marketing, said associates could freely offer Merry Christmas to shoppers, the room erupted in applause.

At long last the obvious at Wal-Mart.

Christmas - not Happy Holidays - remains a big deal for most Americans.

"We've listened to our customers and associates and they wanted Christmas back at Wal-Mart," said Marisa Bluestone, spokeswoman for the Bentonville, Ark., based retailer, which owns 3,960 Wal-Marts, Sam's Clubs and Neighborhood Markets in the United States.

"In upcoming weeks our shoppers will see and hear the words Merry Christmas as we've purposely increased its use. There will be several areas of the store will Christmas will be featured," Bluestone said.

What's going on here?

Cash has something to do with it.

Last spring at an annual convention of companies that offer merchants in-store holiday displays, retailers were awash in Christmas decor options.

And they wrote plenty of checks for the Merry Christmas displays, too, said Doug Hope, vice president Global Shop, an Atlanta-based organizer of the retail design show.

"It's dawned on a lot of retailers that it may be good for business to not be so politically correct to "genericize" the season," Hope said. "And they've realized that it's not necessarily politically incorrect to simply say Merry Christmas."