The Christmas Controversy: Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays

It's that time of year again. The temperature is dropping, snowflakes will soon be falling, and people are bracing for the inevitable controversy that comes with celebrating Christmas in an increasingly secular society.

Once upon a time, Christmas was a season of goodwill and tranquility. These last few years, it has seemed more akin to a fist fight. On the one side are the politically correct (PC'ers) who think that the expression "Merry Christmas" is too exclusionary. They believe we should not say "Merry Christmas" because such might offend those of differing faiths, like Muslims or Jews.

The PC'ers instead exhort us to say "Happy Holidays" as an umbrella expression including all celebrations. On the other side are the traditional Christians who perceive the PC'ers arguments as an attack on their religion. To them, it is another attempt to de-Christianize society and the many sacred traditions they hold dear. To them, Christianity is the only religion it is considered okay to vilify and stigmatize. And so we have the Christmas controversy.

To be fair to the PC'ers, we do not live in a strictly Christian society, so that issue needs to be addressed. However, telling someone they can't say "Merry Christmas" is a gross violation of that person's free speech rights. Here in the U.S. one cannot use force or law to make someone say something or not say something if he or she desires otherwise. At least that is true for the man on the street. Things are a little different in the business world.

An employer has the right to demand a certain level of decorum from his or her employees. As far as the Christmas controversy is concerned, the employers lose out. If they tell their employees to greet customers with a smile and say "Merry Christmas" they offend all the PC'ers. If they tell their employees to greet customers with a smile and say "Happy Holidays," they may offend the Christians (the majority of the population).