Happy Holidays or Seasons Greetings vs Merry Christmas
Some people think it's not respectful to non-Christians to say "Merry Christmas", so you should say "Happy Holidays".
Some evangelical Christians say you should say "Merry Christmas" and not be intimidated by the secularists.
In 2013 the White House decided to call their Christmas tree a "Holiday Tree."

Ben Stein, Jewish American writer, lawyer, actor and commentator on political and economic issues says it's OK.
He says "It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year."
He goes on to comment about banning manger scenes and prayer in school and says,
"How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?" See: Merry Christmas Ben Stein | Huffington Post

So if it's OK with Ben I'm going to do it, not because I want to be an "In your face Christian", but because the I think people are taking this "political Correctness" too far.

I'm going to a Hanukkah party tonight and I will use "Happy Hanukkah".

Nativity Scenes in public places:
In the 1970's the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was initially successful in removing nativity scenes (creches) from public property.
However the courts have said:
1. A privately-sponsored scene can be displayed on public property.
2. A publicly-sponsored scene is OK if it has a secular symbol of Christmas such as Santa Claus, a reindeer, or a Christmas tree.

The legal arguments include:
- Separation of Church and State - Against
- Free speech - For

A 2012 case in Santa Monica, California got a lot of publicity when a judge banned the display of Nativity scenes in Santa Monica's Palisades Park, based on atheist opposition.

According to a press release, Santa Monica's atheist-inspired ban on nativity displays only applies to those which are "unattended." This essentially means that displays which are not "live" and involve figurines may not be utilized, however there is no provision or ban on religious displays that are "attended" (displays that involve human beings). See Blaze.com

Xmas vs Christmas:
Another taboo I've heard is that using Xmas as an abbreviation is an insult to Christ.
Actually X is first letter of the Greek name for Christ. Christos is the New Testament Greek for Christ. X has come through church history to be a shorthand symbol for the name of Christ.
I've also heard that X is a symbol of the cross, so it is OK.


Other December holidays:

Ramadan (Muslim)

Hanukkah (Jewish)

Kwanzaa (African American)

Omisoka (Japanese)
...
Links:
Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas | 95.7FM WZID
Christmas controversy - Wikipedia

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Last updated 20 Dec 2014