# Does anyone in the USA actually say "happy holidays"? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 22, 2004, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145 "2004-12-22T13:31:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/121 "2004-12-22T19:57:13Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > Do you actually use this ridiculous expression or is it another euro-myth designed to make you look a bit mad? > > If you do - Shame on you. What on earth do you think you are doing? Christmas offends absolutely no one apart from the offenderati and they’re unappeasable. > > Stop it at once. > > Happy Christmas. Ho Ho Ho. You’re kidding, right? Only a third of the people I know actually celebrate Christmas, but they do celebrate _something_ around the general time of that holiday. And if you don’t know what they’re celebrating, why would you wish someone happy Christmas? Some of my friends and family are Jewish, others are Hindu, and some are atheists. Still others friends and colleagues celebrate the solstice or Kwanzaa (thought I’m not very familiar with that). Happy holidays is a pretty all-encompassing saying that you can use virtually any time during the month of December, and it can include New Years, too, in the event that you’re not seeing the person until the beginning of the new year. And I don’t need a “euro-myth” to make me look mad. I’m quite mad without one, thank you very much, though not generally in a way any myth about the U.S. would predict. Still, I do rather enjoy infamy, but I can’t speak for all Americans. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/122 "2004-12-22T20:04:17Z")
> [@Incubus](#): > > I say “Merry Christmas” because I believe Christmas is a rather secular holiday. You don’t have to subscribe to any particular religious doctrine to enjoy it, and just because you are an Atheist doesnt mean you have to sit out exchanging gifts and propping up some dead tree in your house 😛 If anyone is offended, it is their problem, not mine. Ahh, so if _you_ believe it to be a secular holiday, that should make it so. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/123 "2004-12-22T20:04:45Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > We may well be. However we don’t assume that people who are of different faiths, or none, will automatically be mortally offended if we happen to celebrate one that we’ve been quitehappy with for 2,000 years. 2000 years? That’s it? Fuck off you fucking piker. Your “post count” may be higher but my “join date” is like 4000 years before yours. ;j Haj ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/124 "2004-12-22T20:05:31Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > We may well be. However we don’t assume that people who are of different faiths, or none, will automatically be mortally offended if we happen to celebrate one that we’ve been quitehappy with for 2,000 years. > > No one is offendedby Christmas. All the people (a fair few) that i know who are of other faiths and cultures rather enjoy christmas. > > “Happy Holidays” is partonising PC gobbledegook. > > (btw unless you’re calling us donkeys (always possible I suppose) it’s ARSES). > > Happy day after the winter solstice one and all. Um, I think you’re missing the point of ‘Happy Holidays’. Generally, except in some ridiculous cases, it is _not_ PC pandering. People say Happy Holidays because they wish the person to whom they’re speaking to have a happy whatever holiday they happen to celebrate. If I don’t know what holiday you celebrate, I’ll say Happy Holidays, if I do know, I’ll say Merry Christmas. It’s not an effort to not offend, it’s just an effort to not assume things about my fellow man/woman/other. The people over here who would truly be offended by hearing a Merry Christmas delivered to them in kindness and sincerity are as few and as loony as those who feel that the use of ‘Happy Holidays’ is somehow a sign that James Bond is a Manlier Man than Indiana Jones. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/125 "2004-12-22T20:06:52Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Remind when the \*date \* of yours is? And mine is November 30 - closing out the second dreariest month of the year, February being the worst. (At least Nov has Diwali & Thanksgiving to redeem it). Sorry I didn’t get back sooner – my face was under attack by a crazed hygienist. It’s November 1. My brother’s is on the 28th. In fact, I was born on All Saints Day, my brother on Thanksgiving, my sister on Easter, my father on May Day, and my great grandmother on Christmas. On the rabid atheist thing – that sounds pretty extreme, but also pretty mythical. I have never once met someone who attacked me for saying “God bless you.” Maybe my experience is unusual, but to me it sounds like just one more made-up “fact” about atheists. ---
**Author:** ![5que](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/3bc359/32.png) [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/126 "2004-12-22T20:13:11Z")
I wish you’d all just start wishing me a happy birthday and forget about “Christmas.” And yes, I expect **TWO** presents from each of you. _Now where’d I put my box of frogs???_ ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/127 "2004-12-22T20:14:11Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Sorry I didn’t get back sooner – my face was under attack by a crazed hygienist. > > It’s November 1. My brother’s is on the 28th. In fact, I was born on All Saints Day, my brother on Thanksgiving, my sister on Easter, my father on May Day, and my great grandmother on Christmas. > > On the rabid atheist thing – that sounds pretty extreme, but also pretty mythical. I have never once met someone who attacked me for saying “God bless you.” Maybe my experience is unusual, but to me it sounds like just one more made-up “fact” about atheists. So you open it and I close it, eh? (The month) Cool. I haven’t met anyone who attacked anybody for saying God Bless You, but I do know people who are irritated. To me, this is all that matters: Are they saying God Bless You because they know I’m an atheist, and therefore want to annoy me? (Not likely but possible) Or are they saying it because it’s automatic? (Way more likely) What did Mr. Crazy Hygienist do to your face? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/128 "2004-12-22T20:14:25Z")
Since I actually know most of the people I (grumpily) greet during this time of year, I tend to wish then good will couched in the phrase of their celebration. I do tend to say “Happy Christmas” rather than “Merry Christmas,” following the example of the American C. Clement Moore (or whomever he plagiarized) rather than the example set by that long-winded Brit, Dickens. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/129 "2004-12-22T20:16:01Z")
I like Happy Christmas better too. It’s strange that in the States, we rarely use the word Merry but we use it for Christmas. 😕 Happy Christmas kills the alliteration of the two M’s. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/130 "2004-12-22T20:20:44Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > What on earth do you think you are doing? There is more than one holiday between when I see someone now and when I may see her again. > [@](#): > > Christmas offends absolutely no one… Being polite is not isomorphic with not offending. > [@](#): > > Stop it at once. Not a chance. > [@](#): > > Happy Christmas. Thanks! And happy holidays to you, too! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/131 "2004-12-22T20:33:29Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I haven’t met anyone who attacked anybody for saying God Bless You, but I do know people who are irritated. To me, this is all that matters: > > Are they saying God Bless You because they know I’m an atheist, and therefore want to annoy me? (Not likely but possible) > > Or are they saying it because it’s automatic? (Way more likely) I guess I’ve been fortunate to have never met anyone like this. Just goes to show you that any demographic has its share of loons. > [@Anaamika](#): > > What did Mr. Crazy Hygienist do to your face? Ms. She attacked my mouth with horrible medieval instruments of torture, and removed the tooth crud I’ve been saving up for the holidays. “Dentistry.” Phht. What a crock. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/132 "2004-12-22T20:43:36Z")
Well, you’re all clean and handsome, now, aren’t you? Well, your teeth anyway. Ow! Stop hitting me. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/133 "2004-12-22T20:56:10Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Well, you’re all clean and handsome, now, aren’t you? > > Well, your teeth anyway. Clean, anyway. > [@Anaamika](#): > > Ow! Stop hitting me. Hitting? Darlin’, some people prefer to call it “spanking.” ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/134 "2004-12-22T21:30:43Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Yep, and the assumption that everyone is Christian and thinks alike and acts alike and walks alike and talks alike is exactly why Americans think that so many Brits are pompous, self-centered exclusivist asses. If it makes **owlstretchingtime** feel any worse, we say it here in Canada too. The French is “joyeuses fêtes.” ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/135 "2004-12-22T21:39:36Z")
For the love of all that’s holy don’t get him started on the French :smack: ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/136 "2004-12-22T21:47:14Z")
Speaking of the ‘militant atheist’ thing, are people in the States really going up to one another all the time and saying “God bless you”? I’ve never heard anyone do this up here, except sometimes in church, and most sneezes of my acquaintance have been greeted with “Gesundheit” or, at most, “Bless you.” ---
**Author:** ![Boldface\_Type](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@Boldface\_Type](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boldface_Type)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/137 "2004-12-22T21:48:58Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > I amend my prior statement: it’s not that the Brits think that everyone is Christian, but that everyone is Church of England. Yes, quite so, ‘The Brits’ think everyone is C of E. Every single fucker in the universe, including pet mice. It’s a good job you ‘amended’ your prior statement, heavens, you might look like a bit of a twat otherwise. Then again, maybe you’re fighting ignorance by increasing its mass until it becomes unstable? ---
**Author:** ![hildea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ebca7d/32.png) [@hildea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hildea)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/138 "2004-12-22T21:49:28Z")
Of course Americans are silly and mad. This is news? So are Brits. And Canadians. And Irish. And French. And all other foreigners. And those from the south of Norway, and the west coast, and the inland valleys, and of course those from the north. Actually, _everybody_ are silly and mad, except me and my neighbour (though I’m starting to have doubts about my neighbour…) \* _God jul_, everybody! 🙂 - Shamelessly stolen from Odd Børretsen, whom you’ve probably not even heard about, you ignorant furriners! ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/139 "2004-12-22T21:58:08Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Speaking of the ‘militant atheist’ thing, are people in the States really going up to one another all the time and saying “God bless you”? I’ve never heard anyone do this up here, except sometimes in church, and most sneezes of my acquaintance have been greeted with “Gesundheit” or, at most, “Bless you.” You’ll hear it on occasion, but from my experience, “God bless you” is less common than “Bless you.” However, an older lady did call me “an angel from God” in the parking lot of my condo. I was taking out my trash. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145/140 "2004-12-22T22:04:21Z")
“Happy Holidays” has been around for a long time, and in years past I always took it to mean Christmas, Chanukah, and New Year’s. It does not offend me. It never did. However, I will often say “Merry Christmas” because most people I know celebrate it. When I was a clerk at a store that sold Christmas stuff, I said “Merry Christmas” to the customers who were buying Christmas stuff. The manager of the store wanted us to say “Happy Holidays” to everyone and sometimes I remembered to do that, but it seemed to be the ultimate of _stupid_ to say that to someone wearing a Santa Hat, you know? So for most people I encounter, “Merry Christmas” is a non-offensive and perfectly appropriate thing to say. “Happy Holidays” is fine too—I often won’t notice the distinction, up until someone else tells _me_ I should say “Happy Holidays” to the person wearing the Christmas sweatshirt. _Then_ I get offended. By the stupidity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-usa-actually-say-happy-holidays/281145.md?page=8)