# It's "Merry Christmas," not "Happy Holidays."
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [December 2, 2011, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812 "2011-12-02T07:47:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 15
### Author:  [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/281 "2011-12-05T04:34:19Z")
\*\*It’s “Merry Christmas,” not “Happy Holidays.”
\*\*
It’s neither. The appropriate salutation is “Bah! Humbug!”
---
### Author:  [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/282 "2011-12-05T04:40:14Z")
> [@Clothahump](#):
>
> \*\*It’s “Merry Christmas,” not “Happy Holidays.”
> \*\*
>
> It’s neither. The appropriate salutation is “Bah! Humbug!”
In the spirit of the holidays, I will join hands with Clothahump and say that this post made me laugh. Hard. 😃
I’M STILL WAITING ON A RESPONSE FROM YOU IN THAT ONE ECONOMICS THREAD!
---
### Author:  [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/283 "2011-12-05T05:24:11Z")
Happy Holidays!!!
Will I get moderated for trolling if I keep posting that in this thread? If so, I’m sorry and won’t continue anymore.
---
### Author:  [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/284 "2011-12-05T05:26:24Z")
it’s like beating the radar. you won’t get caught if you’re in a pack.
---
### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/285 "2011-12-05T06:42:41Z")
Actually, in **mac** ’s case, I’d say, “Have a shitty Christmas”. He deserves it.
---
### Author:  [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/286 "2011-12-05T08:22:21Z")
that’s some improvement.
---
### Author:  [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/287 "2011-12-05T09:49:51Z")
> [@miss\_elizabeth](#):
>
> The argument is against “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings”, not against “Merry Christmas”. You misunderstand the issue.
My reading of the thread was that “Happy Holidays” came about because of all those people from Different Religions™ allegedly being offended by the lack of recognition afforded to their holidays- which inconveniently occur at the same time of year- by people saying “Merry Christmas.”
I was further observing that the adherents of those religions in these parts are either small enough in number and/or laid-back enough in attitude to not be worked up by it.
And thus I further observed it largely seems to be a US thing for people to even feel the need to say “Happy Holidays” lest they offend someone from a Different Religion™.
---
### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/288 "2011-12-05T09:56:33Z")
> [@DianaG](#):
>
> “Happy Holidays” means “enjoy whatever holidays you happen to observe, and or just the general merriment of the season”. I’ll never understand what’s objectionable about that.
As near as I can tell, what gets certain peoples’ panties in a twist is that “Happy Holidays” acknowledges other belief systems exist, and might even be equal to Christianity, whereas forcing everyone - Christian or not - to say “Merry Christmas” is seen as a victory for the “shove Jesus down everyone’s throat” crowd. Basically, suppress everything but their brand of religion and force everyone else to at least give lip service to it.
That said, I have NO, absolutely NO objection to any Christian saying “Merry Christmas” at any time to anyone. What I am objecting to is _forcing everyone else to say it_, and suppressing all other alternative expressions of holiday (any holiday) sentiments. The first statement of this paragraph will, of course, be completely ignored by those who have “Suppress “Happy Holidays”, force everyone to say “Merry Christmas”” crowd.
---
### Author:  [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/289 "2011-12-05T10:03:18Z")
i don’t know, i always thought that greeting or at least commenting benignly on other people’s celebrations and rituals bespoke sensitivity and a cosmopolitan outlook. i mean, last month, i greeted my muslim neighbor by simply saying “end of ramadan” (heard it the night before on the news.) he just said, " yeah, yesterday."
if “shove-jesus-down-your-throat” is all that’s bothering you, just tell those guys, “merry christmas, where’s my gift?”
---
### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/290 "2011-12-05T10:07:02Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#):
>
> come off it, all of you are just dying to see me to drop a line like that. hey, it’s christmas season. can’t one treat things light?
No, I can’t particularly take that “light”. You’re equating saying “Happy Holidays” to genocide. Sorry, slaughtering human beings _en masse_ like animals is not funny, “light”, or a joke. I’d tell you what sort of debased, ungodly, misanthropic, piece of shit person you are except that to truly do my feelings on the matter justice I’d probably overstep the bounds of what’s considered acceptable here in the Pit these days. You are not even fit to be worm food.
You are an embarrassment to Christianity and I hasten to add to the quality Christians here that I completely understand that this bipedal impersonation of a human being is not at all representative of either Christian ideals or the typical Christian. No need to apologize for this lost soul, we all have to deal with the dysfunctional and unempathic.
---
### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/291 "2011-12-05T10:11:46Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#):
>
> i’m just feeding these morons you know. i started this thread with little more than a plea for a more explicit christmas greeting when **everyone from guest to moderator starts dumping the racist card on me.**
Maybe that should be a clue of some sort to you? Getting people to agree around here is like herding cats - when they all move one way, the stimulus must be pretty strong.
> [@](#):
>
> i do feel sorry for your relatives and i apologize for my line. now can you help get these anti-racist monkeys off my back?
Not good enough. Not nearly good enough. Simply apologizing to those related to those slaughtered isn’t good enough. Apologizing to those in the “Final Solution” targeted groups isn’t good enough. You don’t have to be a member of any of the above to be appalled, outraged, and nauseated by what you said. You need to apologize to EVERYONE.
And I do mean EVERYONE.
It’s going to take awhile… there’s what, around 7 billion people now? That’s a lot of “I’m sorry”.
---
### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/292 "2011-12-05T10:19:53Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#):
>
> arghh! the world has only two views of me. what am i to do?
Actually… I suspect most of us are leaning to just ONE view of you… and it’s not pretty.
Seriously, what the fuck were you thinking? When is it EVER acceptable to spew the sort of vile, contemptible bullshit you have since page 6? Tell me, do you also take a shit on the dinner table during supper when you feel a bowel movement coming on? Because you just did the conversational equivalent. Then pissed in the soup and left brown skid marks on the tablecloth. And now you’re wondering why everyone is disgusted and upset at you.
Unbelievable.
---
### Author:  [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/293 "2011-12-05T11:43:47Z")
mac’s gettin’ nuthin’ for Christmas. Jesus thinks he’s an asshole.
---
### Author:  [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/294 "2011-12-05T12:23:46Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#):
>
> well, the moron was being disrespectful of my idol mack bolan (note the underlined portion of his post.) he got what he deserved.
I’d never heard of your idol before this thread. Now all I know about him is to associate him with massive shit eating douchebags.
This holiday season I wish for you pain and loss sufficient to induce remorse and a true capacity for empathy. I suspect that the amounts required to achieve such outcomes may be of the “nuke him from orbit” level, but it may be the only way to be sure.
---
### Author:  [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/295 "2011-12-05T13:41:04Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#):
>
> My reading of the thread was that “Happy Holidays” came about because of all those people from Different Religions™ allegedly being offended by the lack of recognition afforded to their holidays- which inconveniently occur at the same time of year- by people saying “Merry Christmas.”
Except “Happy Holidays” has always been a Christmas greeting–witness umpteen song lyrics and whatnot.
It wasn’t until a relatively short time ago that insisting on “Merry Christmas!” became a thing.
---
### Author:  [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/296 "2011-12-05T13:54:32Z")
Isn’t it amazing.
Say Merry Christmas to a Christian … no problem.
Say Merry Christmas to a Jew … no problem.
Say Merry Christmast to an atheist … no problem.
Say Happy Holidays to an atheist … no problem.
Say Happy Holidays to a Jew … no problem.
Say Happy Holidays to a Christian … WE WANT CHRISTMAS BACK! WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA?!?
Say anything to **mac\_look\_at\_me\_i’m\_all\_edgy\_and\_shit\_bolan** , and all you get is the angsty retardedry you normally hear from a 13-year-old with too many zits and a Jugalo club badge.
---
### Author:  [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/297 "2011-12-05T14:32:51Z")
What is the point of capitalizing Different Religions and putting a trademark sign on it? Is it like scare quotes? Whatever it is, it comes across as saying different religions are made up or something. And psst – there are different religions in the UK.
---
### Author:  [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/298 "2011-12-05T14:36:47Z")
> [@Zeriel](#):
>
> Except “Happy Holidays” has always been a Christmas greeting–witness umpteen song lyrics and whatnot.
>
> It wasn’t until a relatively short time ago that insisting on “Merry Christmas!” became a thing.
Exactly. It’s a bunch of whiny panty-bunchers trying to rewrite history in order to be offended.
---
### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/299 "2011-12-05T14:42:49Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#):
>
> Do Americans seriously say “Happy Holidays” to each other? I thought it like a made-up thing to make American TV shows easier to hawk to Christian-minority countries.
Yes we do and it has been going on since before I was born. As you can see, it has been going on at least as far back as black-and-white Bing Crosby. We say “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings” and we mean it sincerely with no irony whatsoever. And it’s not because we’re afraid of offending anyone.
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#):
>
> My reading of the thread was that “Happy Holidays” came about because of all those people from Different Religions™ allegedly being offended by the lack of recognition afforded to their holidays- which inconveniently occur at the same time of year- by people saying “Merry Christmas.”
>
> I was further observing that the adherents of those religions in these parts are either small enough in number and/or laid-back enough in attitude to not be worked up by it.
>
> And thus I further observed it largely seems to be a US thing for people to even feel the need to say “Happy Holidays” lest they offend someone from a Different Religion™.
> [@LonesomePolecat](#):
>
> Similarly, a generous spirit would not be the least bit offended at being greeted with a holiday greeting commonly used by the religious majority of the nation in which he resides. All the “Happy Holidays” greeting says is that you don’t really care about or respect his holy day.
The only people getting offended are the ones who are objecting to “Happy Holidays” and “Seasons Greetings.” I say those and “Merry Christmas” as well, all depending on what I feel like at the moment. And none of it has anything to do with offense.
> [@miss\_elizabeth](#):
>
> The December holidays are almost completely secular, and have been for a long time. They are based around it being a fun time to get out and do something instead of being cooped up alone in the cold, and because everyone likes presents (especially retailers).
Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
---
### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812/300 "2011-12-05T14:45:36Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#):
>
> Say Merry Christmas to a Jew … no problem.
While in general I agree with you, this simply isn’t true. If you know I’m Jewish and you wish me a Merry Christmas, it’s a problem. If you don’t know I’ll certainly take it in the spirit offered, but I will most likely gently correct you.
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812.md?page=14)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-merry-christmas-not-happy-holidays/604812.md?page=16)