Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings. What is your typical salutation during this festive time of the year?
At one time, all three were acceptable with the latter two being all-encompassing for Christians, as well as those who practice other religions or are not active church-going people. If somebody sent a Christmas card that had “Happy Holidays” scrawled across its front or wished somebody a cheerful Season's Greetings, it was not questioned. It was not insulting or offending to the recipient. That person's religious beliefs were not scrutinized and there was no talk about 'if those people don't like Christianity, they need to get out of the country'.
Saying Merry Christmas was also not an offensive expression, but rather showed one's spirit of the Holiday season. The other two expressions meant the same thing, just in different words.
Now, however, it seems that if you say Merry Christmas, you are at risk of offending those of other faiths or those who don't practice any religion. If you say Happy Holidays or Season's Greetings, it is now a statement against the Christian faith.
How on earth did this bold line in the sand get drawn in the first place when all three statements are merely gestures of well-wishing during what should be the most peaceful time of the year? In the era of being politically correct, where offending anybody who is 'different' than oneself, our freedoms of expression and choice are being rapidly eroded. Canada prides itself on being a mosaic, rather than a melting pot, a society that welcomes and accepts other cultures and religious beliefs and those of faiths, other than Christianity do the same. By the way, not all non-Christians come from other countries, so comments about people who are offended by Merry Christmas should go back to their homeland is more a statement about those new to the country than it is about a festive expression. There are many born and bred Canadians, some whose families have been here for generations who are of faiths other than Christianity.
Christians and non-Christians have been using all three gestures for years and until now, never has their faith been scrutinized. A good Christian who has been using all three now feels compelled to only say Merry Christmas for fear of having his/her faith being questioned and those who do say Merry Christmas are being accused of not accepting other faiths.
That is not the way is should be. All three expressions should be used simply as a different way of saying the same thing. Freedom of expression and choice allows us to use all three gestures without feeling like we are offending anybody or having our belief system taken into question.