So what should I say tommorrow?

[sqbr]

I like wishing people a merry Christmas. But I know that as a Christian-encultured atheist I'm a lot more comfortable with Christmas as a secular holiday than people from other cultural or religious backgrounds.

I'm not sure the American "Happy Holidays" is an improvement: it assumes that everyone has a holiday around this time, which is fine if you're jewish(*) or (most types of?) pagan but not so much if you're Buddhist or Muslim etc, as are a great many of the people I know who are members of a religion other than Christianity (eg it's reasonableness as a greeting assumes the sort of religious demographics you get in America but not here(**)). And saying it tommorrow feels like "I'm wishing you a merry Christmas but giving it a veneer of inclusiveness."

Worse along these lines is "Happy Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/whatever", imo.

I like "A merry Christmas to those who celebrate it and a generally happy day to everyone else" and similar.

What are other people's thoughts?

(*)Though apparently Hanukkah isn't that big of a deal compared to some of the other holidays?
(**)Plus Americans have Thanksgiving. We all have New Years I guess, but I don't think people mean "Happy new year" when they say "Happy Holidays".

Comments

[elaran]

also this is what i would have posted in response to your mention of the christmas-bus thing i guess. like i read that and my reaction was: personally i like it or don't mind it. i expect it too and just, as one of the major holiday celebrated here, i am... surprised? at people who have an issue with it and see it as being subjected to it. well ok, you are i guess. but again, i liken it to what i stated in the last part of previous comment where it's like going to another country with a another culture and complaining about one of their major religious events/holidays etc.

blergh, i am mainly hoping this comes out right.

[sqbr]

I've been thinking about it, and my theory is this: Christmas in Australia really is pretty secular, so non-Christians don't generally feel oppressed by it. American Christians tend to make more of a big deal about the Christ in CHRISTmas, and thus American non-Christians don't buy it when people are all "Oh, but it's secular, we're totally including you".