Reports, Recent Events Show Most Americans Prefer "Merry Christmas" to "Happy Holidays"

While the phrase "Happy Holidays" is being used more and more in the public arena, it may not be the preferred greeting for the winter season. A new poll by Rasmussen shows that nearly 7 out of 10 Americans actually prefer "Merry Christmas." The poll was conducted through telephone interviews of 1000 adults in the US who were asked to choose whether they would rather be greeted with "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" when doing their holiday shopping. Of the respondents, 67% picked "Merry Christmas" while only 26% chose "Happy Holidays." The survey was geared towards finding out if either phase was favored in store advertising. "Merry Christmas" was preferred by a margin of over 40% making it a clear winner. There was, however, some disparity between political party affiliations where 88% of Republicans preferred "Merry Christmas" while only 57% of Democrats felt the same way.

Many businesses have made it a policy to not have their employees say "Merry Christmas" lest it offend non-Christian patrons. Jacqueline Cable on New York said that she was "surprised" when she was told by a Stop & Shop employee that "it is against company policy to wish customers 'Merry Christmas.'" The majority of shoppers do celebrate Christmas and are out shopping for gifts for specifically that day.

"It's unfortunate that a small group of people want to sanitize the meaning of Christmas...In an attempt not to offend anyone, they disrespect the beliefs of the vast majority. Is this not offensive to the vast majority who celebrate Christmas?" said John Cooke of Colorado.

Ashley Tartar of Virginia concurs, "I thought, you know, if they're doing this to not offend people, they're actually offending some people because I'm celebrating Christmas."