I’m simply amazed at how much discourse the whole Happy Holidays versus Merry Christmas issue is getting. People are going out of their way to express their righteous indignation at being wished Happy Holidays. Worse yet, there are those who are trying to paint this as a Republican versus Democrat issue:
O’BRIEN: Another topic. You guys were talking about this yesterday, everybody was, this happy holidays versus merry Christmas. There’s a new poll out, and the polls says that what would say to someone you just met? 56 percent of people overall say they say “merry Christmas,” 41 percent would say “happy holidays.” As we know, it’s broken down between Republicans and Democrats, as you guys sort of pointed out this morning at our greeting. 71 percent of Republicans would say merry Christmas, 54 percent of Democrats would say happy holidays. Cliff, would you really prefer — I mean, do you have a dog in this fight? Do you care if I say happy holidays or merry Christmas to you?
I just don’t get it.
If I wish someone Happy Holidays, couldn’t it be possible that I’m just lumping together Christmas and New Year’s as opposed to going out of my way to make a point about the need to secularize. Come to think of it, there is nothing secular about the origins of word “holiday.”
I’m Jewish, but I don’t get offended when someone wishes me Merry Christmas or Happy New Year. I realize that what is most important is that someone is taking the time to wish me well. How could I possibly take issue with that?