This is such a joyous and cheerful greeting! How did it become embroiled in so much controversy?
Is "Happy Holidays" a legitimate Christmas greeting? Or is it deliberately watered down so as not to offend non-Christians?
There is a school of thought that links "Happy Holidays" with the aggressive doctrines of political correctness that dominate American society today. But there's one problem with this theory.
Political correctness rose to prominence in the 1980's. People have been saying "Happy Holidays" and "Seasons Greetings" for far longer. I remember seeing these phrases written on Christmas cards back in the early 1960's (about 20 years BPC).
In that bygone era, unmarried women were still known as Miss So-and-so. Words like "Ms." and "African-American" had yet to be invented, as did the entire notion of political correctness. When someone wished you "Happy Holidays," everyone accepted that it was synonymous with "Merry Christmas."
That said, we live in a different time now. Political correctness dominates social interaction and public communication in the United States.
Visit a retail business and say "Merry Christmas" to an employee. They'll probably wish you "Happy Holidays" in return. I don't know for a fact that their companies compel them to answer in this way, but I suspect that this is so in at least some circumstances. If that's true, it's tragic. Why stigmatize the "Merry Christmas" greeting by punishing employees for saying it? "Do you punish them for saying "Happy Easter?" Or forbid them from mentioning Bastille Day or Cinco? It's absurd.
(I would have said that it's "idiotic," but that term offends some politically correct people.)
I have to agree that this is indeed political correctness gone haywire. But just because some people are coerced to say "Happy Holidays" to strangers, that doesn't mean that it's an inferior Christmas greeting.
Christmas is more than one day. It's an entire season that comprises a number of holidays. The four Sundays of Advent. Christmas Eve. The Twelve Days of Christmas. Epiphany (Twelfth Night). And just for good measure, New Year's Day and the Winter Solstice (formerly known as Yule) are bundled in there, as well.
So, I don't see anything anti-Christian about the Happy Holidays greeting. After all, we Christians have a lot of holidays at this time of year. We celebrate all of those holidays as part of the Christmas season.
When I greet people at this time of year, I say "Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays." I think that covers the bases pretty well. Christmas is my holiday, and I wish them the same level of joy and love that I feel at this time of year. If that upsets them, then they probably need the Christmas Spirit even more than they realize.
Copyright © 2014 Daniel R. South
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