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

[firecat]

This year I mostly haven't been initiating season-specific wishes. I offer the same ones I do at other times -- "have a nice day" and so forth. But if someone says "Merry Christmas" to me I say it back to them, and so forth.

I sometimes initiate "Happy New Year" between 12/25 and the first week of January.

[sqbr]

*ponders*

I think I only say Happy New Year on New Years Eve/Day. And now I'm overthinking it and don't know if I would naturally say it to people now or not :)