oh, this is fascinating. i'd never thought of the intersection of local demographics and holiday greetings.
* no, chanukah is not a major holiday.
** i can't speak for anyone else, but if i said "happy holidays" i would consider it to include wishes for a happy new year, too -- but then i'm not christian at all; i'm more of a secular pagan and celebrate solstice. i do sometimes wish a merry christmas or happy chanukah to the people who celebrate it, though.
i'm trying to remember back when i was in jr high and high school in the 70s in calif. there was an increased focus on the separation of church and state around then in the area i lived in (san francisco bay area, near berkeley), with increased pressure on schools to be inclusive of students who weren't christian and increased pressure on municipalities to have "holiday displays" on govt property instead of christmas specific ones (and oh, did that cause some ruckuses when suddenly places that had had creche displays for decades had bells and holly and etc instead).
i remember we had holiday decorations rather than xmas decorations at the schools by the time i was in high school, and it was really drummed into us that not everyone celebrates christmas and that we should include everyone in our holiday celebrations.
i suspect it's different for people who grew up after "happy holidays" was already common.
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* no, chanukah is not a major holiday.
** i can't speak for anyone else, but if i said "happy holidays" i would consider it to include wishes for a happy new year, too -- but then i'm not christian at all; i'm more of a secular pagan and celebrate solstice. i do sometimes wish a merry christmas or happy chanukah to the people who celebrate it, though.
i'm trying to remember back when i was in jr high and high school in the 70s in calif. there was an increased focus on the separation of church and state around then in the area i lived in (san francisco bay area, near berkeley), with increased pressure on schools to be inclusive of students who weren't christian and increased pressure on municipalities to have "holiday displays" on govt property instead of christmas specific ones (and oh, did that cause some ruckuses when suddenly places that had had creche displays for decades had bells and holly and etc instead).
i remember we had holiday decorations rather than xmas decorations at the schools by the time i was in high school, and it was really drummed into us that not everyone celebrates christmas and that we should include everyone in our holiday celebrations.
i suspect it's different for people who grew up after "happy holidays" was already common.