Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas
Christmas is fast approaching. You can smell the pumpkin spice in the air and see the blinding lights on storefront windows and homes. It’s the perfect time to start hunting for those unique gifts for your loved ones. You enter a store, pick an adorable knit sweater, and as you pay and leave, the cashier smiles and says, “Happy Holidays”. It must be the end of the world, right? Happy Holidays? What happened to good old-fashioned Merry Christmas? Then you remember. That’s right. It’s the holiday season, and Christmas isn’t celebrated by all the beautiful people and cultures that make up this country. Christmas, New Year’s, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Thanksgiving all rolled into one. So, you move on in acceptance. Right?
Now imagine this entire scenario but with the opposite reaction. It seems strange to imagine anyone being upset by this, right? Well, it’s become more common than you may think. The push and pull of Merry Christmas has become especially prevalent in recent years, as accountability and political correctness becomes an important topic. Many sides think the shift to saying Happy Holidays is unnecessary and that Merry Christmas holds the same sentiment. The other side thinks the change is better because it’s inclusive and representative of all Americans. Both are fair arguments, but this raises more questions. Is this truly a matter of faith, or of politics?
The issue only recently became one. When was the last time anyone fought over the phrase? In politics, of course. During Trump’s presidential campaign, his more conservative supporters had a bit of push and pull with the term, as Trump’s claim reads, “President Trump will return the phrase Merry Christmas to the White House”. This of course was used by some of his supporters as a hit on previous administrations pushes for inclusivity.
For perspective, some claims against the use of Happy Holidays include: “Of course it's a war on Christianity — or, more precisely, a war on the religious nature of America," which Dennis Prager of National Review wrote in 2015.
This is a big claim to make and it’s clear that the situation has become a lot more nuanced than was anticipated. From the same article on Business Insider, advocates for political correctness push back.
"Using their own logic, if saying 'Happy Holidays' is an intentional cultural displacement of Christianity, then insisting on 'Merry Christmas' is an intentional displacement of everyone else," the Rev. J.C. Austin, the vice president for the Christian leadership formation at Auburn Seminary, wrote last year.
Whether you say Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas, it’s still a wish of goodwill at the end of the day. Think about it. When you’ve said either phrase, did you ever actually think about what the person you’re acknowledging celebrates? Do you wonder if they’ll be offended by whichever phrase you use? If you’re told either one, do you automatically assume that the teenage minimum wage worker in front of you is trying to push a political agenda? Hopefully, the answer is no. So… Happy Holidays!
