Hallmark says the word “gay” means something different now than when the Christmas Carol “Deck The Halls” was published in the 1800s. So, the Kansas City-based greeting card company has removed the word from one of its ornaments featuring the lyric.

The Holiday Sweater Ornament features a bright sweater with the notation “Don we now our fun apparel!”  The original lyric is “Don we now our gay apparel.”

The company is taking a lot of heat on its Facebook page for the change.

One user posted “Its preposterous to even assume that the word “gay” is offensive and even more to have the gall to erase a word under the pretext of being offensive!”

Hallmark officials defend the decision saying festively decorated Christmas sweaters are all about fun, and the ornament is intended to play into that.  Click the picture to go to Hallmark’s web site to purchase the ornament ($12.95).