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Christmas music spurs Facebook feud

Shoppers Drug Mart posted its decision to pull Christmas music from its stores on Facebook, spurring intense debate among users. 

 

Lauren Rae Orsini

Internet Culture

Posted on Nov 12, 2012   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 7:34 am CDT

Another shot was just fired in the so-called War on Christmas.

For Shoppers Drug Mart, a Canadian drug store, Nov. 1 marked the first day of holiday mentions, deals, and—most noticeably—Christmas music in all of its stores.

However, so many of its customers publicly complained that the chain decided to postpone holiday music until Dec. 1. Shoppers Drug Mart even put up an apology on its Facebook page:

“Hi everyone, due to recent complaints around the Christmas music being played in stores we want to advise you that as of midnight EST tonight, all Christmas music will be suspended until further notice. We do take customer feedback to heart, and it does lead to change. Thank you for your patience around this and have a fabulous Friday.”

Since Nov. 2, the Facebook status has gotten more than 7,600 likes and over 5,700 comments, proving Christmas music is among the season’s most polarizing issues.

“I love Christmas music; but when its Christmas time! Trust me after working 16 years retail one can only hear so many versions of a song,” Krissy Moran wrote.

“I’m pissed that you stopped for a bunch of miserable people who actually found the time to complain about this,” Vito Carlucci wrote.

Perhaps the frosty weather has something to do with it, but playing Christmas music early isn’t unusual for North America’s Northeast. A radio station in Buffalo, New York, for one, announced on Facebook that it’s been playing 100 percent Christmas songs since Nov. 9.

Photo via Hans Splinter/Flickr

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*First Published: Nov 12, 2012, 6:56 pm CST