# How to reply to "I say Merry Christmas!!1!"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 30, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359 "2018-11-30T23:28:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/81 "2018-12-02T13:23:31Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > To be really fair Christmas isn’t like Christmas in most ways. No, it is perfectly like christmas as it is actually done by you collectively. It may not be your religious christmas, but it’s not what we could care about. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/82 "2018-12-02T14:08:22Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I think an all-purpose non-commital response for just about any holiday salutaion might be _“Back at you.”_… But with click of your tongue and finger guns, right? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/83 "2018-12-02T14:22:54Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > ‘All holidays matter.’ We also would have accepted “Merry BLUE Christmas” or “ALL masses are merry!” ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/84 "2018-12-02T15:10:33Z")
Why can’t y’all be like Thailand and wish happiness for any excuse? We celebrate several Buddhist holidays AND Christmas. And Valentine’s Day. We celebrate no less than FOUR News Year’s holidays: one day in each of January and November (full moon) and three-day holidays in each of April and February (new moon, sometimes in late January). We will not be celebrating Bush Mourning Day, however. December 5 is already a permanent holiday — the Birthday of King Bhumibol the Great, ---
**Author:** ![Paxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@Paxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paxx)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/85 "2018-12-02T15:35:48Z")
This: > [@brainstall](#): > > Being rude, or snarky, or snippy back isn’t going to help anyone’s mood, and if the purpose of your “Happy Holidays” greeting is to be pleasant and friendly, then just wish them a cheery Merry Christmas back. Or this: > [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Ignore them. You’ve already wished them a happy holiday and they’re trying to pick a fight. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/86 "2018-12-02T15:47:02Z")
> [@](#): > > and if the purpose of your “Happy Holidays” greeting is to be pleasant and friendly, then just wish them a cheery Merry Christmas back. I can’t agree with that. Just because you wanted to be pleasant and friendly to someone you interacted with doesn’t mean you want (or should want) to be be pleasant and friendly to someone who has bee deliberately unpleasant and unfriendly in return. You may have to be pleasant and friendly because of your job, but it’s hardly unreasonable to not _want_ to continue be pleasant and friendly to someone who has behaved that way. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/87 "2018-12-02T15:56:29Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > I can’t agree with that. Just because you wanted to be pleasant and friendly to someone you interacted with doesn’t mean you want (or should want) to be be pleasant and friendly to someone who has bee deliberately unpleasant and unfriendly in return. You may have to be pleasant and friendly because of your job, but it’s hardly unreasonable to not _want_ to continue be pleasant and friendly to someone who has behaved that way. But it does diffuse an otherwise silly situation. Though I can see minimizing my contact with said person in future. They may take a Merry Christmas as leave to start a rant about the “War on Christmas”, and well who wants that? ---
**Author:** ![pudytat72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/88 "2018-12-02T18:34:45Z")
Merry Birthaversary Day! Covers them all. I use this when I give some a present that is a) big, b) not at a typical gift time c) not someone I regularly give gifts ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/89 "2018-12-03T01:00:16Z")
[https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181203/86d64beea08b3eec87eb72b1fca89891.jpg](https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181203/86d64beea08b3eec87eb72b1fca89891.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/90 "2018-12-03T02:46:25Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > I never initiate any sort of holiday greeting. When someone says “Happy Xxxxx” to me I say “Yeah, ho ho ho and all that stuff.” In the film rating sense of Xxxxx, “ho,ho, ho” is quite the appropriate response. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/91 "2018-12-03T03:21:27Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Why jerkish? Anyone who believes that there ever was a “war on Christmas” is a moron, and deserves it. > > I would go further. I would say, “Sorry, I’m a _ **real** _ Christian. We can’t say that yet–because Advent isn’t over. What’s _ **your** _ religion? Are you atheist? How nice! Tell me about that.” Well, that was sort of the implication, and I just couldn’t quite bring myself to go that far. Why jerkish? Because– 1. I am actually Christian and celebrate Christmas, and so I have no trouble wishing other people a merry Christmas, though I will typically only do so in a place like my church, where just about everybody celebrates Christmas, or among friends who I know celebrate it; and 2. I generally think that people ought to be called what they want to be called, gendered what they want to be gendered, and wished the holidays that they wish to be wished. So when I said “happy holidays” in a neutral setting to a woman I’d never met, and she harrumphed and tapped a very large button she was wearing that read (this is perfectly true) “It’s OK to Wish ME a Merry Christmas,” I certainly shouldn’t have had a moral objection of any kind to saying, “Oh, okay, and merry Christmas,” and moved on. But I found the whole thing super annoying and verging on assholish (a BUTTON? I mean, c’mon) and I couldn’t resist. I felt a little guilty afterward. (Not very though…) ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/92 "2018-12-03T04:22:38Z")
“Christmas is one of the winter holidays, so take it as read that I wished you a happy Christmas.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/93 "2018-12-03T05:41:24Z")
“[Have a merry Christmas, happy Chanukah, kwazy Kwanza, a tip-top Tet, and a solemn, dignified Ramadan](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bASvwP2U_m8).” ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/94 "2018-12-03T05:43:12Z")
I’d go with “Cthulhu fhtagn!” or “Allah akbar!” Always a crowd-pleaser. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/95 "2018-12-03T05:54:58Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I just tell people to have a good day. This ^^^ When I worked in retail, I just continued to tell people to have a good day, even during the holidays. If they replied Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, whatever, then I responded, “Thanks, you too!” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/96 "2018-12-03T07:41:00Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Where I work, I will be seeing 1000’s of people over the holidays. I plan on saying “Happy Holidays” to people. Last year there were some who took offense and would angrily and loudly proclaim “MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!” to my very innocuous “Happy Holidays!”. > > I never know how to respond to someone angrily shouting Merry Christmas at me. It doesn’t sound very merry. “Jesus would not want anyone to speak his name in anger or use it as a cause for argument.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/97 "2018-12-03T07:43:58Z")
For those suggesting Ramadan greetings, I’ll point out that it was over back in June and won’t come again until May. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/98 "2018-12-03T08:37:29Z")
That is this year. In a few more years we’ll be having January/December/November Ramadan ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/99 "2018-12-03T11:11:42Z")
I always assume it’s Ramadan whenever my gf makes her incredible Ramadan soup. I’m wrong 99% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359/100 "2018-12-03T11:11:43Z")
May the bird of paradise fly up your nose! May an elephant caress you with his toes! May your wife get great big runners in her hose! And may the bird of paradise fly up your nose! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reply-to-i-say-merry-christmas-1/825359.md?page=6)