Remember the old movie "A Christmas Carol", I'm sure that when they wished each other a Merry Christmas that they were sure that they weren't offending anyone except Scrooge of course and that was just because he hated the holiday cause he couldn't make any money on that day of the year.

But when we think of Christmas we think of the lights, the trees, the presents and what a wonderful time of the year, with the snow glistening and the frosty chill in the air, and the joy of the season. Everyone rushing about trying to make the Christmas as wonderful as possible for those they love. The music and the joy of the season is met with a greeting around every corner. As we bestow our best wishes on others we meet, we sometimes forget that the holiday season means different things to different people. Years ago people wouldn't have taken offense at being wished a Merry Christmas and would just respond with a Happy Holiday, but today with everyone trying to stay in touch with their religious beliefs, people are more easily offended.

In my home town when I was young and we celebrated Christmas, most of the residents of our small town were Catholic so the question of whether or not they celebrated the holiday's was not even considered. With more and more people moving to the country from the cities there are many more religions in a small area, so although we may not be trying to offend anyone with our best wishes we sometimes may inadvertently do so. I sometimes believe that is why today so many people are not very forthcoming with their best wishes at the holiday season.

When we wish someone a Merry Christmas we are being very specific with our best wishes, but when we say happy holiday we could be referring to any holiday such as Easter, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, and many more. Also Happy Holiday doesn't limit your best wishes for the holiday season to any specific religion, so in fact you can say it to a person of the Jewish faith without offense to them and their belief.

Now when a person is wishing you Merry Christmas you are assuming that you are of the same religion and beliefs as the person you are addressing. Being that we are a country of many religions and cultures, I think that the latter would be more appropriate during the Yule Tide season, that way you can extend your heart felt wishes to everyone without offending anyone. So, unless you actually know that person has the same beliefs as yourself it would probably be nicer to wish the people you pass a Happy Holiday rather than a Merry Christmas. In Closing I hope all of my readers have a very HAPPY HOLIDAY.

Learn more about this author, Barbara Stockton.
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