Since when is saying "Happy Holidays" a bad thing?

OK, so every year at work my co-workers and I get the pleasant ordeal of appeasing customers who get slightly offended when we don't say "Merry Christmas" to them during the transaction. We get to hear how Christmas is a Christian holiday and that it should be acknowledged and that Happy Holidays is just a cop out. Well, whatever. Respectably, Christmas, by majority, is a Christian holiday. But arrogance gets in the way of reality in that everyone has to realize that in this country of all countries, cultures are so diverse that no one can really assume anymore that  true Christians rule the land.  If you really want to be honest, hypocrite Christians actual rule the land I think. Being critical and judgmental of other people's religious practices doesn't seem  very Christian- like to me.

So during the Christmas/Hanukkah/ Kwanzaa season, we need to be true to the spirit of this time of year and respect all cultures and how they celebrate. I asked a friend of mine who happens to be Muslim how, or if, she celebrates this time of year. Religiously, she and her family do not practice the way most people do by going to church or singing Christmas carols about Jesus. I personally don't think it makes her wrong. That's the way she grew up, that's what she accustomed to. What makes it interesting is that for her having a very different religious background, she doesn't criticize how other cultures celebrate the holidays. She respects that. She understands that this is their custom and it doesn't make them wrong because they don't celebrate like she does and vice versa. So why is it that the this Muslim woman can respect that about others, but yet some "Christians" can't return that same respect? So with most of us realizing that, we want to say 'Happy Holidays' as a way of acknowledging everyone's holiday practices without offending non-Christians. But of course, we can't make everyone happy.

The term "Happy Holidays". Let's get to that. Happy obviously means a pleasant sense of emotion and joy. Holidays denotes a day of celebration of some sort and/or acknowledgment. So how can two positive words create such a negative stir? I remember talking to a customer one time and said 'Happy Holidays' to her and she corrected me and said, "No, it's Merry Christmas". I felt like telling her to shove it up her ass and that I don't believe in Jesus (which is not true btw) just so I can push her buttons. Of course, you know, I couldn't do that. But still, I was baffled how someone could be slightly offended from such a non-offensive comment which I didn't really need to say in the first place.

People need to get out of the dark ages and really embrace what this season is truly about, regardless what  religious background everyone has. We need to remember this is the time of giving, sharing, a time of belonging, and family. A time of fellowship. A time to bring peace and everyone together. All that doesn't require religious labels. And if we can carry that throughout the year, maybe the world can be a better place. Who knows?

So with that, I want to say Happy Holidays. And yes, I'll also say Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Lalapalooza, Ooompa Loompa doopadeedoo. There. If I left anyone out, my apologies.