I’ve seen and heard this a lot this season, and I don’t remember seeing it much in previous years (i.e. not enough for me to notice it). Is this in lieu of saying the blandly all-inclusive “Happy Holidays?” Did its current vogue come from some specific circumstance, or is it just randomly viral this year? Inquiring minds and all that.
I’ve gotten in the habit of saying it, although I say “Happy Holidays,” too. When addressing a group which I know must include some Christians, I’m more likely to say it.
It may be because certain folks view the term Happy Holidays as part of the “War on Christmas”. For that reason I continue to say Happy Holidays since it’s a generic term and isn’t anti-Christian since Christmas is still technically a holiday.
I fear you are right about the switch, which is disappointing. Now people are effectively saying “If you celebrate Christmas, here’s a greeting; if you don’t, no greeting for you.”
Well, I’m not going to get exercised about another culture war tidbit. I’m still curious how so many people and organizations lighted on that particular phrasing.
Not “technically,” it is the big bruising brother of holidays.
I just say Merry Christmas. If no one likes it, oh well.
So I decided to try to answer my own question. I found this link of one guy’s opinons. Consider it the last gasp of Christmas for the year.
I’ve only encountered it in the context of a dual-purpose sort of wishing of good cheer - something like “Merry Christmas, if you’re celebrating it, and if you’re not, good health and happiness to you anyway”
I say it, but if I got it from anywhere specific, I’m not aware of the source. I say it because I want to wish a merry Christmas to those who celebrate it. I don’t want to wish a merry Christmas to those who don’t celebrate it. Of course, in this day and age, if you try to be be respectful, you’re bound to annoy someone.
I’ve heard it for years. Ditto for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and other holidays.
I just say Merry Christnukkah, or Happy Hanuchristmazaa. 
If someone chooses to get all worked-up about it, it’s their choice.
Snag a Super Saturnalia!
Or Shag … depending on how well you know who you’re greeting. 
I’ve heard it on videos and such where they’re saying it to a lot of people. They say “To all who celebrate, Merry Christmas,” often with other holidays thrown in afterwards.
If only there were a way to wish everyone happy holidays at once, without certain groups feeling like the inclusiveness is actually a slight against them.
I say merry Christmas and if someone doesn’t like it, well that’s too bad.
Merry Christmas & seasons greetings, all!
While it is not (usually) disrespectful to wish somebody a Merry Christmas or a happy Holiday — nobody is going to go all Oliver Cromwell on you — you are wishing them well — presumably you should know your audience well enough to judge whether they actually care about Christmas, Hanukkah, or whatever holiday it is you have in mind.
To be the devil’s advocate here, why are you saying it? Because you are Christian? Did you go around wishing everybody a happy Diwali? Why or why not?
Obviously, most people do not mind well wishes, but, e.g., a friend of mine was wished a happy Hanukkah by a stranger, who presumably did not know she was a Lutheran; nothing bad about this interaction, but it indicates the stranger did not really care about her religious beliefs, or her happiness for that matter, if one wants to be cynical about it.
They come in clusters, but it’s not like every group has their major holidays at the exact same time .
I say “merry Christmas” as a greeting commonly said in this country due to the season.
I say Merry Christmas on Christmas Eve/Day. Everything else is Enjoy Your Holiday.
I have said “to those who celebrate” before and the point I think is to bring attention to the fact that not everyone celebrates Christmas. It’s a sort of backlash to the war on Christmas nonsense.
I’m no longer on social media where this would be relevant, but I can see where it’s kind of pointless to include that disclaimer.
I’m not religious, if it matters. But I do celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday.
…I say Happy Holidays and if someone doesn’t like it, well, that’s too bad.
Happy Holidays!
What bugs me about the “Merry Christmas” vs “Happy Holidays” thing is that, IMHO, it’s possible to be non-Christian and still call it “Christmas”, since that is what that day (and associated days off) is called. I am an atheist and I have no problem calling it Christmas or Xmas or whatever.