First off, I am athiest. But I still say Merry Christmas, and believe it should be Merry Christmas. The Holiday is called Christmas for Christmas' sake!

I strongly agree in saying merry Christmas. I am sick and tired of hearing people say "Happy Holidays" We live in canada and america and should be allowed to say merry christmas without offending anyone. If someone was to say Happy Holidays I would say Merry Christmas. I would be proud to say it two. If someone said Happy Hannukah I would say Merry Christmas and not be offended. Its what I celebrate and last time I checked it was a free country! If there was no Christmas nobody would care about holidays because most people here celebrate Christmas. Usually in elections or votes majority rules. This Is discrimination! Come on everybody speek out! Don't let Merry Christmas be silenced for ever!

Hi Ann - I think it's the atheists not the Jewish folks you need to worry about - Mike

I think it is ridiculous not to say Merry Christmas when Jews say Happy Hannukah which is not a major holiday- -why don't they say "Happy Festival of Lights" instead? No one polices them on that the way Christians are policed to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas..Christians have been fired for saying Merry Christmas.
also no one makes Jews say Happy New Year instead of Happy Rosh Hashannah, etc.

The problem in this country is that we have 4% tyrannizing the 96% and this needs to change now.


I would like to see Jews lead the way...if they expect continued Christian support for Israel, otherwise go pound it!

To everyone who gets offended by the term "Merry Christmas" I'm sure you'll have no problem showing up at work on December 25th right? Didn't think so! Funny how you still want that day off.

I agree with Meghan M: If saying Merry Christmas offends you, you have got major issues!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

If that offends anyone, GET OVER IT!

I am getting tired of every one conforming to the idiotic society demands. I want to see Merry Christmas. Why say Happy Holidays? I do agree it is the holidays and I never had a problem with saying happy holidays until people started demanding it. Lets say enough is enough and get it right and get it back to the true nature of this holiday. This is Christmas. Without Christ there would be no reason to celebrate Dec 25. I don't know what more I can say. I hope this gets the point across.

I think its ridiculous how people say happy holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Majority always rules, except when it's about Religion. Same with anyone putting down or trying to demote Christianity for that matter. There is no real reason, no reason good enough to not like Merry Christmas. Even if you are not Christian, or don't celebrate anything, lets try not to be babies and whine when someone is trying to be nice saying Merry Christmas out of the goodness of their own heart. Grow up and be thankful.

When people tell me Happy Holidays I say scew you it's Merry Christmas. People are too easily offended, Merry Christmas is and always will be the greetings no matter what stores do to dumb down everyone. Merry Christmas, does not and will not offend me ever, because there's nothing wrong with it.

HERE IS MY TAKE ON THE SUBJECT. "MERRY CHRISTMAS" IS NOT OFFENSIVE. WHAT OFFENDS ME THE MOST IN THIS COUNTRY TODAY IS WORKING A 50 HOUR WEEK OR MORE, AND SEEING MY TAX DOLLARS GO TO SUPPORTING MILLIONS OF LAZY UNPRODUCTIVE VICTOCRATS. OR WHAT ABOUT THE ILLEGALS WHO CROWD AROUND WESTERN UNION ON FRIDAYS TO SEND THEIR ILLEGALLY GAINED CASH TO MEXICO? HERES ONE FOR YOU. A GOVERNMENT WHO HAS FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN IN THIS COUNTRY WHO ACTUALLY PICKED UP A WEAPON AND FOUGHT FOR THIS NATION'S FREEDOM, ONLY TO BE IGNORED, PUSHED ASIDE, AND TOLD THAT THE SAME GOD THAT PROTECTED THEM AND RETURNED THEM HOME FROM BATTLE IS NO LONGER ALLOWED IN PUBLIC. WHATS NEXT? WILL WE BAN THE WORDS "HAPPY", "JOY", "FAMILY", ... HERES A THOUGHT; THESE PEOPLE WHO CLAIM THAT "MERRY CHRISTMAS" IS OFFENSIVE TO THEM SURE DONT SEEM TO HAVE A PROBLEM SPENDING MONEY WITH "IN GOD WE TRUST" PRINTED ON IT. ENOUGH SAID.

I believe that Merry Christmas has been twisted since they think that it conveys Christianity, but the fact of the matter is...we celebrate it with the very basic idea of the birth of Christ ( though historians believe that Christ was not born in December) but this is the very essence why we greet Merry Christmas, thats why it is Christ-mas, get it? Remember that this nation had been founded and dedicated by the Early Christians...even see your 1 dollar bill...IN GOD WE TRUST. Banning Merry Christmas is hilarious, since politically they dont want to offend somebody from different beliefs and religions? Hey c'mmon wake up...we have been already offended by them...REmember 9/11?

I don't know what a lot of you people are talking about. Now, I was brought up Unitarian, from a mixed lapsed Jewish and Catholic family; we always celebrated Christmas. Greatest holiday ever. But I have family and friends who were celebrating Hannukah right around the same time, and it seemed to me, when we were together and met, for instance, people in stores who wished us a Merry Christmas, that it was, in fact, a minor slight to my Jewish whatever. You can call it plain vanilla all you want, but when addressing someone I didn't know, I began from early on to cover my bases by wishing a Happy Holiday.

I forgot to mention the "Holiday trees." God forbid any responsible business owner would offend all those devout jewish people who put up their hannukah trees every year at this time.

What I can't stand is using the word "Holiday" to replace Christmas like you're playing mad libs. For example, a certain satellite radio provider that has a dedicated "holiday music" channel that plays all CHRISTMAS music. Or a Christmas party being called a "Holiday Party" I have no problem with the term "Happy Holidays" as a brief way of recognizing all the religious occasions which take place this month, but the cookie cutter way so many businesses just replace the word Christmas with Holiday drives me nuts, and I make a definite point not to spend my money on Christmas items anywhere that Christmas is being deliberately omitted. Why should I buy Christmas gifts at a store that only sells holiday gifts?

And to VA:

LOL!! A PAGAN holiday?! I don't think so.

I don't know where you did YOUR research, but Christmas most definitely IS a Christian holiday.

Christmas is a religious holiday. That much is true. I think what VA was trying to point out is that Winter Solstice, which actually takes place in December, was hijacked by the Roman Catholic Church and turned into a religious festival. Winter festivals were being celebrated in many cultures way before the term "christmas" ever originated. Most Christian religions believe that Christ was born in the spring. So, even though Christmas may be a Christian holiday, why is it celebrated in December? I know some people feel Christmas has been ruined by commercialization. When in actuality, Winter Festival was ruined by religion.

It's ridiculous for them to try and ban the phrase 'Merry Christmas'. Don't they realize that this country was founded in God's name, one of the reasons it has become one of the most powerful countries in the world?!

The entire Christmas holiday is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. That's why it's called CHRISTmas. To ban the phrase Merry Christmas would be like banning spooky things on Halloween. You just can't do it - it's what the entire holiday is about!

Merry Christmas is the correct phrase. If a Jewish man wishes me a Happy Hanukah, I will not be offended and simply reply, "Thank You, and Merry Christmas to you" Clearly, Christianity is the fundamental reason for the founding of this Great Nation.

Merry Christmas one and all

It's just stupid changing the forever joyful "Merry Christmas" for a dull and crappy "Happy Holidays". When you say Merry Christmas! you say it with a smile on your face and this kind of a glitter in your eye.
Don't you dare to Happy Holidays me!!!!!
If you don't want to hear Merry Christmas... Lock yourself up in your house and don't leave until january comes again!!

LOL! Who cares? Christmas isn't Christian holiday. Do you research. It's pagan in origin, adopted and re-mixed by Roman Catholics.

Pagan on not. What a beautiful think happened.
Christmas has transofrmed pagan people from the times of Romans to celebrate the saving of mankind by our God Jesus Christ. That pagan holiday was replaced by the most importand event on earth; the birth of God on earth as man.
Don't get yourself worked up how the day came about.
That is not a way to argue. Don't be the victim of the division that is targeted at you and me to divid us Christians.

P.S. -- Mike is right -- the original Freedom OF Religion concept was primarily a response to the extreme political antagonism between Protestants and Catholics (with plenty of bad behavior on both sides for centuries) that all started with Henry VIII and his wish to divorce (which Rome wouldn't allow, which caused Henry to break with Rome and start the Church of England). Over 200 years of English history was a horrendous power struggle among the ruling elite as Catholics, Anglicans, and Puritans all tried to eradicate each other in Britain, along with the aftermath of the Reformation and counter-Reformation on the Continent.

The original intent of Freedom of Religion in this country was that the government couldn't mandate one flavor of Christianity on the citizenry over another, that the government would stay neutral. How far we've strayed from that.

I'm not particular over whether I hear Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays -- I just want to hear something said from the heart!

What I find more objectionable is if I'm in stores doing my Christmas shopping -- and economists are quick to remind us all that the retailers are depending on all us good little consumers doing a bang-up job with our Christmas shopping if they are have a successful year -- so if the retailers are so dependant on all us Christmas shoppers, then they darn well should be cheerful about the season. Most of the time this year I encountered salespeople and checkers who could barely be bothered to say "Hello" and "Have a nice day", let alone "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas".

However, I don't worry about offending anyone -- anybody who is important enough to me to hurt my feelings already knows I'm a religious person.

I always send out Christmas cards with a beautiful nativity scene on them. I say Merry Christmas to co-workers and strangers in stores and on the train. If I know somebody to be of a different faith (I have both Jewish and Muslim friends), I make an effort to acknowledge their traditions because it's respectful to them.

I am a nothingarian. most existing holidays come from religion, no matter which countries, religions or race. I am not offended by ‘Merry Christmas’, because I respect and understand all these holidays, just like Muslim say ‘happy Eid ul-Adha’ to me (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_ul-Adha).

I only feel offence if the holiday been rephrased and someone tried to convince me it is true.

For me 25-Dec is holiday, any holiday should have name, just say ‘Merry Christmas’, it is non-sense to call it ‘Happy Holiday’ only. But don’t tell me whatever I do is to celebrate birth of Jesus, It is what Christian does, not me.

Again I understand, respect, and sincerely to see what Christian are doing on 25-Dec, but don’t ask me to do same.

PS: the vote is mis-leading, it may cause wrong interpretation. because if I feel offence by MC, doesn't mean that I want to say HH or don't respect Christian.

I am offended that "Happy Holidays" is being used by retailers to draw in more money than "Merry Christmas". I've heard people say that it's more diverse to say "Happy Holidays", however Christmas is a major event for Christians and trying to generalize it with other religions is offensive. It's bad enough we have to deal with Santa Claus.... As long as something pushes Jesus out of the spotlight seems to be good. The problem is Christians are way to passive, it's like they are sorry about their faith. Look at the Muslims, Hindu's and Jew's, if you offend their faiths, all hell breaks loose.

I say "Happy Holidays" because I am part of an interfaith family. Sometimes I say "Happy Holy Days" to remind me that important traditions of the season we still practice today come from many (non-christian) faiths. I feel better about myself when I don't make assumptions about others being one faith or another but remember that we are all the same regardless of what religion we choose or are raised in. At holiday time, I want to celebrate and acknowledge diversity because diversity is healthy and it's the reality in which we live. I say Happy Holidays because I trust my gut, not a study when it comes to what I should say and to whom. Personally, I don't find anything particularly American about Christmas. Nor do I associate being American to have anything to do with one religion or another. I am an advocate of people following their gut...and it will inform them of what to say when. Thanks for the discussion.

Look at the word Christmas ,First six letters say what it's all about,, therefore you are not Christian , and need not celebrate , it is the birth of CHRIST

What is wrong with people...if there were no CHRISTMAS there would be NO Holidays. If sombody saying Merry Christmas offends you in any way you have some other issues to figure out, this is insane. Majority Rules...sorry!

I say Merry Christmas not only because its the name of the the holiday we celebrate on Dec 25th , but because this nation is Christian founded.

Even if your not a believer in a religious faith theres is nothing wrong with the name Christmas for the T is silent.

If someone came up tp me and said, "Happy Holidays" I would reply, "Which holiday are you talking about for there are many?" same thing with season greatings there is more than one season but only one Christmas.

If people have a problem with that then maybe they should consider another part of the world to live in. For we are "One nation under God".

Jenny - Thanks for stopping by AND Merry Christmas! - Mike

I'm 15 years old and I believe Americans should stick to saying "Merry Christmas." We're in AMERICA where most household familes celebrate CHRISTMAS.

I think the poll results here speak pretty strongly.

The overwhelming majority of folks strongly disagree with the statement "The phrase 'Merry Christmas' offends me."

So, Merry Christmas to all!!!

Mike

Hey Charles;

Thanks for stopping by. My understanding of the original freedom of religion had to do with the diversity of Christian faiths because of persecution of Christians in the United Kingdom.

Some interesting info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion#United_States_of_America

Mike

Our Founding fathers were almost all Christians of sorts. Some, like Thomas Jefferson (Jeffereson incidently was not in the U.S. when the Constitution was drafted, but was the Ambassador to France) called themselves "Deisits," which meant they believed in a Creator, but not a God who intereacted with his creation. Nevertheless, all subscribed to a Christian-based world view, even the skeptics.

They were, however, sensitive to Jewish Americans and took pains to establish a freedom of religion clause in the Bill of Rights that protected Jews as well as any other non-Christian belief.

The point is, I would be much more comfortable hearing Merry Christmas and Happy Hannakah (not sure of my spelling) than a generic Happy Holidays.

Strongly disagree with the poll question. I'd much rather hear "Merry Christmas" than "Happy Holidays".

"HH" is just plain cheesy. And I'm no fan of political correctness. In fact, whenever possible, I'll purposefully avoid shopping establishments that go out of their way to be politically correct.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, to all that are not offended. To the rest, Bah Humbug.

Great topic to stir things up!

I too agree with Sandy. Your well wishes should be from the heart and not be some “genericized” term with little meaning. Say what you really mean!

I think what you say should reveal more about who YOU are. We’ve protected ourselves too much trying to be politically correct. I happen to celebrate Christmas, so I say “Merry Christmas” to those I know. It is definitely more meaningful and personal.

Sometimes it feels like the politically correct movement has whitewashed our society, removing all that is interesting about us. There is so much beauty in differences. Why not celebrate and be proud of who you are? What’s wrong with being a milkMAN or a mailWOMAN? At least I know that much more about you!

Now having said that, if I know someone is Jewish, I WILL wish him Happy Hanukkah, too.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hello Michael:

Happy Christmas to you, which I believe is the British version. I'm with Sandy here, I'm looking for a connection with authenticity. Not always easy to do when stressed, tired and distracted as many of us may get during this time of the year, especially those who work in retail.

The operative word here is connection. Heartfelt cannot be faked and that is what people respond to.

Happy Holidays seems to be a conclusion reached by committee; it makes nobody happy, yet it was the best that could be done at the time.

Companies already intrude in people's lives with all sorts of interruptions, even at the cash register where you're often asked to provide a phone number or a zip code to complete the transaction (which are not obligatory to do so).

As with all verbal and non verbal expression, the challenge is to convey the spirit without detracting from the message by using the wrong tone, whatever that may be for the people in the front lines.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings.

I agree with JK, most of us come into contact with the MC vs HH debate when we are fulfilling the role of customer during the shopping season.

I do not care which phrase a person uses. However, I resent being told "Happy Holidays" because the employee was told to use HH instead of MC. I want a sincere wish, not a canned response that feels manipulative. If it isn't sincere, then skip it altogether.

I've worked retail and know experientially that it is hard to keep the sincere Christmas spirit alive while running a cash register for 10 hours. Those employees who manage this should be rewarded with an appreciative word from the customer and recognition from the store's management.

Hey Jonathan - I am not a historian AND this is technically splitting hairs. But I think we were founded as a Christian nation. The term Judeo-Christian was adopted in the U.S. much later. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judeo-Christian#Etymological_background

But we are most certainly founded on Judeo-Christian values, no argument there.

FYI, pretty interesting how the poll is turning out.

Mike

Correction Griffin, I believe that is a Judeo-Christian nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles.

Merry Christmas all the way...we live in a Christian nation founded on Christian principles.

I enjoyed the brillance of Glenn Beck:

https://members.premiereinteractive.com/ows-img/glennbeck/pages/28585/41387_2487.htm

I don't see the term "Happy Holidays" as all inclusive. I see it as a plain vanilla way of not acknowledging ANY of the various holidays.

I would like to have retail stores tell their employees to say all of them. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanza.

Hi Guys;

Tom, it was only last Christmas that Walmart decided to ban the words "Merry Christmas." This is not an old issue.

In Seattle, only YESTERDAY, the airport banned Christmas trees. See http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2718266

This is actually a rather timely topic.

Mike

Why is this even an issue? I say Happy Holidays because it's inclusive of all religions, but also includes New Years, etc.

This "war on christmas" stuff was old years ago.

Carson, I think you missed the point regarding the use of Happy Holidays. What annoys many people is when retail stores go out of their way to avoid saying "Merry Christmas", because they view the term as an andorsement of Christianity, instead of its recognition as a national holiday.

When retailers such as Best Buy only use Happy Holidays in their advertising and displays, they're simply making a stupid business decision, by failing to acknowledge the vast majority of their customers, namely people who celebrate Christmas.

This is coming from a practicing Jew that enjoys saying "Merry Christmas" to others during the holiday season as often as I can.

Merry Christmas back to you Carson!

Christmas happens to be a national holiday AND all the other alternatives are also religious.

Way I look at it, it's hard to say "Happy Holidays" and not be religious, because they are all "Holy" days.

Appreciate your opinion!

Mike

I'm not offended by "Merry Christmas," but I tend to use "Happy Holidays" or some other non-religious alternative. That has more to do with my own personal perspective on a host of issues than it does concern that someone might take offense to a "Christmas" utterance.

The one in three who are upset when "HH" pushes out "MC" need to find a new hobby and should stop worrying about the fictional War on Christmas.

How a more inclusive expression of friendliness could upset someone baffles me--unless they mistakenly see that language choice as a threat to their own belief structure.

Happy holidays, Michael!

Carson

People who say Happy Holidays should be either shot in the head because they are usually towel heads, or should be sent back to their own country and celebrate what they want. We do not go to their country and force them to say Merry Christmas but they can do that to us