As part of Pensito Review’s War on Christmas during this, the holiest of all shopping seasons*, we want everyone to know it’s not O.K. to say “Merry Christmas” to us. Save it. Zip it. Nip it.

The “It’s O.K. to Say Merry Christmas to Me” merchandising campaign has pushed us, when commanded on how to observe this holiday, from simply wincing on behalf of non-Christians, to groaning and rolling our eyes on behalf of reasonable people, to all-out open hostilities, as they say in the military, which incidentally, fights real wars.

We find the latest gambit from the Focus on the Fambly folks, whose revenues during 2005 were nearly $140 million, especially repellent. Through its Alliance Defense Fund (2004 revenues: $18 million), it claims an astounding 95 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas. That would be a huge jump from Oct., 2005, when a Harper’s article identified considerably fewer Christians in this country.

Depending on which poll you look at and how the question is asked, somewhere around 85 percent of us call ourselves Christian…a smaller number of Americans—about 75 percent—claim they actually pray to God on a daily basis, and only 33 percent say they manage to get to church every week.

But, Christian, Jew, Muslim, or Other, we evidently loves us some Christmas!

We’re not buying it — literally. We personally know both Christians and Non who do not celebrate the birth of Christ, or more accurately, Cool, Now What Else Did You Get Me Day.

What those who use the holiday to ostracize people who choose to do something else on Dec. 25 is really all about is apparent from the ADF “It’s O.K.” web site. “Products” is listed first in the home page navigation, followed by “Donate,” “E-Card,” “Your Rights,” “Attacks on Christmas” and “Legal Request.”

My favorite is the rip-off (can you rip off a rip-off?) site “itsoktosay.com.” It offers design-free t-shirts with the hostile phrase, along with the complaint, “IT’S HIS BRITHDAY AND YOU CANT EVEN SAY HIS NAME!” Maybe they should ask Santa for a spell checker this Xmas.

* Thanks, Earline Gilley