Like “how’s it going” or “have a nice day,” they have an automatic quality, uttered as a reflex to punctuate the beginning and end of civil conversation. Well, happiness is agreeable to all sensibilities, even those by which merriment offends. Over the course of the 20th century, the Christmas season has transformed steadily into a commercial enterprise, with malls and department stores leading the consumer-friendly charge. It encompasses all holidays, religious in nature or not, that are celebrated during the winter holiday season. Merry Christmas vs. Wherever Santa Claus takes prominence over the nativity, someone will complain that we’ve lost the true meaning of Christmas. The Obama and Bush administration both said “Happy Holidays” on the White House cards, but they both also wished the nation a “Merry Christmas” as a whole. An advertisement for a children’s toy store published in the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1863 declares, in all caps, that “HAPPY HOLIDAYS ARE COMING!”, and that we should therefore make haste to shop for presents, while an ad in the Duluth News-Tribune, circa 1890, laments “HAPPY HOLIDAYS — ALAS, THEY HAVE COME AND GONE, AND NOW LET US SETTLE DOWN TO BUSINESS.” It seems that this early use had the flavour of rapacious inclusion we see in advertising and Christmastime marketing campaigns today: “happy holidays,” despite Advent import, has less obvious Christian associations, and seems — to merchants eager to maximize the scope of their clientele — the safer, more comprehensive yuletide phrase. Happy Holidays is more general. With all of the chaos going on in the world, that energy should be used to unite the already divided church and love the unchurched. This sentiment works both for people who celebrate for religious purposes and those who just enjoy the season for its own sake. Some people need to be reminded that the U.S. is not a Christian country. With all of the chaos going on in the world, that energy should be used to unite the already divided church and love the unchurched. That is the tragedy of this whole debate on Happy Holidays vs Merry Christmas - many are greeting others based on fear rather than greeting them. And so it’s not coincidence that the phrase should recur frequently throughout the novella, signifying not libertine cheer but simple mirth and good-natured jolliness. In this case, it has evolved to the point of nondescript, perfunctory salutation. Happy Holidays vs Merry Christmas Now that the holidays are behind us, I’ve been thinking about the use of “Merry Christmas” vs “happy holidays.” Wishing someone “Merry Christmas” has never been an issue for me, but then again “happy holidays” has never been an issue for me either. How to Use “Merry Christmas” “Merry Christmas” is a traditional greeting used to express good tidings during the holiday season. For example, you might say: Have a very merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year! Please try again, 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4. The debate over whether one should say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy holidays" has been going on for decades. Merry Christmas Vs. The phrases Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays do have some differences. For example, when “it doesn’t matter” is included as an option, 63% of Republicans or those who lean Republican say they prefer “Merry Christmas,” while 5% choose “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy Holidays” and 32% say it doesn’t matter. However, it is more complex than that. Expressions of greeting and courtesy, “merry Christmas” and “happy holidays” can be thought of as seasonal variations on the usual diplomatic clichés. Merry Christmas! As historian Neil J. In a slightly ironic twist, this unconscious social reinvention is much of the order of the one Dickens and his contemporaries orchestrated a century earlier, only this time it’s fixated less on self-improvement and camaraderie and more on giving and receiving gifts. Breadcrumb Trail Links. But others say "Happy Holidays" is … Young observed last year in the, , “merry Christmas” was then “something the uncouth masses shouted as they traveled in drunken mobs.”, The value of conviviality is a lesson Ebenezer Scrooge learns in, , published in 1843. Should an office "Christmas party" be called a "holiday party" so that it's more … As long as I'm still free to observe the Christian holy day of Christmas, the secular community at large can use whatever greeting they choose. What started as a dispute forged by religious preference became an argument of political malice. The Advent is a cycle on the Christian calendar that includes not only Christmas Day but the Epiphany on the first Sunday after January first. I feel like it's a tradition - even though I did not grow up in a heavily religious (or even remotely religious) home. The saying Happy Holidays includes all religions and cultures in its sentiment. Tradition has not been distorted or perverted, in any case. In a world where "Happy Easter" and "Happy Birthday" are the norm, that "merry" part of "Merry Christmas" is unique—to say the least. This phrase is considered more politically correct, as it does not leave anyone’s religion or beliefs out. We want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays used to be easily interchangeable. Well of course, it’s all down to “political correctness”. 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