Good afternoon, shoppers.

And Happy Epiphany!

Okay, you’re probably wondering why I’m giving a shoutout to the annual Christian holiday. In fact many of you may not know what Epiphany is.

Basically, it’s a celebration that marks the arrival of the Magi to visit the baby Jesus. It also marks the end of the “12 Days of Christmas.” Although for many of you, that festival is nothing more than a song you sing before Christmas.

I hope I have not offended the non-religious types out there. This is not my attempt to bring religion into Shop Talk, but provide some insight for today’s entry.

One of the major Christmas promotions for Inklings Bookshop in Yakima was its 12 Days of Christmas sale, where during the 12 days before Christmas, the book shop placed a different Christmas-themed book on sale.

The sale prompted lots of purchases, but it also irritated one of the store’s customers who felt that he needed to chastise the store and owner Susan Richmond for what he felt was an inappropriate name for the pre-Christmas sale.

Here’s what “George” said (the store changed the name to protect the customer):

I just couldn’t contain myself any longer, and had to write about the nonsense you’ve been sending the past 11 days and today regarding The Twelve Days of Christmas.

This is still Advent!  The first day of Christmas is actually December 25th.  The 12th day is Epiphany, January 6, the day the wise man traditionally arrived to present gifts to the Christ child.

The days of Christmas have been observed by the Christian church for centuries.  The zaniness that passes for the holiday season didn’t start to take hold until the Great Depression.

I’m all for you raking in the big bucks during the holiday season (all businesses must do this to some extent), but it really rankles me that it seems you don’t seem to know when Christmas is. 

Call your pre-Christmas sale 12 Days Before Christmas, or something like that.  Prepositions are occasionally important...

I’m feeling a little better now that I’ve aired my concern.  I’ll feel even better if you don’t repeat your conceptual/linguistic error.

Richmond responded to the letter in her blog, giving a mea culpa for the name of the sale. Here’s a snippet:

For two reasons, I accept and agree with the recent newsletter subscriber who told me of his disappointment in me that I would use the phrase in the wrong way. First, I am a Christian and I know the terms have historically been used to describe the timeframe leading up to Epiphany. Second, I believe words are important. Words convey meaning. They convince, defend, instruct, encourage, persuade and educate, therefore they should be handled with care. In the midst of the busy season, I was not feeling particularly creative so I grabbed a common and easily understood, though erroneous phrase. My business deals in words. I must be more careful. I, therefore, repent (though not in sackcloth and ashes).

... So, now you have my formal recantation where I hereby annul, back off, backtrack, call back, countermand, disavow, disclaim, disown, renounce, repeal, rescind and otherwise unsay what I said before. The Twelve Days of Christmas at Inklings Bookshop shall be forevermore, only after Christmas, but do keep an eye out for next year’s Christmas Countdown!

Well, looks like a win-win situation to me. Shoppers still get the sale, while “George” and other Christians can rest assured that their local retailer knows the meaning of the “12 Days of Christmas.”

How’s that for holiday spirit?

As always, you can reach me to give your comments and rants:
E-mail me at mhoang@yakimaherald.com
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