No Christmas? No Sale

At a local Mall in New Jersey shoppers were dismayed to see the lack of "Christmas" in the stores this year. And they noticed something in particular was missing and wanted to know why.

So Where's Christmas? At a Mall along Route 80 near Dover, New Jersey, shoppers have noticed an eerie silence about the Christmas shopping season. There seems to be no "Christmas" in this Christmas.. There are no Christmas songs playing and there are no lavish Christmas decorations. But, most noticed among the people I interviewed today, there were no "Bell Ringers;" No kettle. The Salvation Army volunteers, which every year can be found standing next to their red kettles cheerfully ringing in the season, were very absent. That all too familiar tone that lets you know Christmas is here is missing in the usual places this "Christmas" shopping season, and these shoppers in New Jersey wanted to know why. The Salvation Army has had the long standing tradition of sending in their Bell Ringers to take donations for their charity. The contributions they collect during the Christmas shopping season is a substantial help to many. But what is most memorable about the season for these shoppers was the missing bell. That ringing bell is a reminder for them "to give to those in need", "the real reason," about this season, these shoppers said. Christmas is the time families get together and loved ones send gifts to one another to celebrate the momentous event of the birth of Jesus Christ. And the Salvation Army reminds us all to remember the poor, just as Jesus said. When I asked what they had noticed was missing about the season this year they marked off three things: 1. There was no Christmas music playing. At the mall we were at there was no music playing whatsoever. 2. There was a marked absence of the usual mall Christmas decorations. Only some vendors had decorations up. 3. There were no bells ringing, no one was collecting for the poor. When the shoppers heard what the vendors in a Hagerstown Md. mall recently had caused there, when the kiosk retailers had lamented the Salvation Army bells as too loud and annoying to the mall management, the response of the shoppers at this mall in New Jersey was one of shock and disbelief over the callousness. They couldn't believe the Maryland mall management had even complied requiring the Salvation Army to change the klackers in their bells for paper clips while inside their mall. Their responses were stunned unbelief and wondered out loud if maybe the missing ringing here in this New Jersey mall was for similar reasons. Christmas Missing in Action The notable absence of the Salvation Army donation buckets, workers and bells at the stores of the major retail malls caused one lady to remark it as being "just weird." "It doesn't feel like Christmas without them." she said. When I asked a mall employee where the "Bell Ringers" were she was shocked she hadn't realized they were absent and wanted to know why and what she could do to bring them back. I suggested she ask her management. When I asked the shoppers today whether the Salvation Army should be required to change their klackers here as well one young lady said, "No! That would be annoying!" Another gentleman said "that's kinda stupid." "What does Christmas mean to you? What is Christmas about?" I asked. "Family", "presents" and "giving" was the common answers. But they all knew Whose birthday it was a celebration of but admitted to being too intimidated at first to say who! Now I was shocked. I started to wonder what planet I had landed on. But one of the kiosk vendors in this mall in New Jersey said it was the shoppers that he noticed were missing so far this season. Could it be that without Christmas being celebrated in the stores and malls you don't get the "Christmas" shoppers? Just a thought, retailers, just a thought.