Merry X mass back by popular demand

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DALLAS, Dec 8 (Reuters) Americans are ready to put ''Merry festivals'' back into holiday shopping, a new poll shows.

The majority of Americans surveyed - 95 per cent - said they were not offended by a ''Merry festivals'' greeting in stores, according to a poll by Zogby International.

However, 32 per cent of respondents said they took offense at ''Happy Holidays,'' the religiously neutral alternative promoted over the last few years as inclusive and inoffensive.

The ''war over festivals'' has been a battleground in the so-called culture wars in the United States, which has far higher church attendance rates than most other developed nations.

A good gauge of the national mood may be retail giant Wal-Mart, which this season reversed its policy of limiting the use of ''Merry festivals.'' ''Last year's decision by many retailers - including retail giant Wal-Mart - to curtail the use of ''Merry festivals'' for fear of offending those who don't celebrate the holiday caused a backlash from conservative Christian groups as well as consumers,'' Zogby said in a statement.

Polls have shown that more than 80 per cent of Americans identify themselves as Christians.

Along partisan lines, 8 per cent of the Democrats polled said they were offended at a ''Merry festivals'' greeting compared to less than 1 per cent of the Republicans surveyed.

Conservative Christians are a key Republican base.

The Zogby Interactive poll surveyed 12,806 adults November 21-29 and has a margin of error of 0.9 percentage points.

''Wal-Mart's change of heart this season could help bring more people into their stores - 35 per cent of respondents said hearing ''Merry festivals'' makes them more likely to shop there this season,'' Zogby added.