What's wrong with "Merry Christmas"?

[sistermagpie]

> bboyminn:
> 
> Yes, and during the Asian New Year, I wish my Asian friends
> Happy New Year. But I don't wish them Happy New Year at 
> Christmas, at Christmas I wish them Merry Christmas because
> I DO KNOW what I am celebrating, but I don't know what they
> are celebrating. 
> 
> I do understand the context you are using, if I can paraphrase
> it, it is like going to your birthday party and expecting you
> to wish me 'happy birthday'. I agree that makes no sense.
> 
> But I do think it makes sense at Christmas.

Magpie:
Not exactly. I'm saying that if I don't know what holiday you're 
celebrating I would choose the greeting that includes all the 
holidays rather than the one I'm celebrating because, well, the one 
that includes everyone's holiday is right there. If I then find out 
what they celebrate I can just become more specific. 

Steve:
> I am not against a variety and range of seasons greetings,
> but I am put off by the politically correct idea that 
> Christmas must be secularized. That 'Christ' must be stripped
> from Christmas to avoid offending anyone. Typically, the 
> people who the politically correct are afraid of offending
> are not offended at all, so it is to no real purpose. It
> is simply the politically correct placating their own
> conscience. 

Magpie:
I don't understand where secularizing comes into anything. Christ is 
not getting stripped out of Christmas either way. If somebody does 
celebrate Christmas, you can say Merry Christmas, whether they are 
secular or not. (It's not like there's a secular version that takes 
the Christ or the mass out of it!) I don't say happy holidays for 
fear of offending--though if I am avoiding offense that obviously 
wouldn't be a bad thing. But it's not, for me, about placating 
possible unreasonable people who have something against Christ. It's 
more like being on the Internet on the Fourth of July and not 
automatically wishing somebody Happy fourth of July because I'm aware 
I might not be speaking to an American.

-m