Merry Christmas campaign

GAINESVILLE - The Merry Christmas v. Happy Holidays controversy has prompted a Gainesville businessman to begin a campaign in favor of Merry Christmas.

Steve Syfan of Turbo Logistics has made available, for free, small yard signs that read "Merry Christmas."

Syfan says he got the idea while driving around town and noticed an absence of the words Merry Christmas and decided to try to do something about it.

"They couldn't be found so," Syfan said, "I decided that the best thing to do was make the two words myself. Merry Christmas will be seen everywhere and within a couple of weeks, those two words won't be so hard to find."

Syfan quickly picked up the support of WDUN talk show host Martha Zoller and Dr. Tom Smiley, pastor of Lakewood Baptist Church. The premise behind the Christmas silent protest, according to the trio, is to make sure that people who believe in Christmas are not being limited in their speech.

"My issue is not about Happy Holidays, per se," Zoller said. "My issue is that there is a fear about saying Merry Christmas. It is not unlike the PC police creating the fear of a problem that isn't there. You can say Merry Christmas, you can call it Christmas Break--this is about free speech, not limited speech. I am exercising my right to free speech by saying Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, not rolling it all together."

The signs are available at Jacobs Media (WDUN); Turbo Logistics; Lakewood Baptist Church; and Riverbend Baptist Church. In addition to yards, they are also designed so that they can be displayed in a window.