Hope you all have a great Christmas-Hanukkah-Kwanzaa-Yule-Omisoka-New Year! What a mouth full. Of course it would be much easier to simply and respectfully say a nice warm “Happy Holidays,” but not everyone thinks that quickly on their feet. The majority of people just trying to be polite in the United States would give an innocent “Merry Christmas.” However, people who don’t celebrate Christmas might not appreciate this gesture the way someone who has had their tree up since November first would. Some people are really dedicated to the religious background of the holiday they do celebrate, and some of those people think it is downright disrespectful if it goes unrecognized. All in all, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal, because at the end of the day, no one is trying to be sinister.

   It’s understandable why someone would get annoyed by tons of people wishing them a Merry Christmas when that person doesn’t celebrate it. And people who don’t celebrate Christmas must feel weird wishing people a Merry Something-they-don’t-celebrate. It shouldn’t be offensive to others if they say a kind hearted “Happy Holidays!”  But some religious people really do take offense. If you get mad over someone not wishing you a “Merry Christmas” just remember: not everything is about you, and there are multiple religions that celebrate their own holidays. Why be mad over someone trying to be nice?

    Not to mention, on top of multiple religious holidays there are an enormous amount of other holidays that occur in December around the world. According to an online calendar, there are over 50 different holidays around the world that are celebrated in the month of December alone (holidayscalendar.com). Many of these are religious, and some are national or cultural; quite a few are good fun. So you can be wished Happy Holidays because you are being wished Happy multiple Holidays!

  These include holidays such as National Bacon Day — on December 30, by the way — or Ugly Sweater Day– which resides on the nineteenth. Senior Genevieve Sasloe, who celebrates Christmas, notes that she has one Catholic and one Jewish parent in her household. She explained, “If someone said Happy Hanukkah to me I wouldn’t think anything differently. Say whatever you celebrate; it doesn’t bother me.” If someone narrows it down to what they celebrate, that’s fine, and if they decide to be broader and go for the ol’ “Happy Holidays.” That’s great too.

   There shouldn’t be any reason to get offended over someone wishing you a Happy Holiday that you don’t celebrate. The key is the word “happy” — nothing sinister about that. Senior Sarah Cook said the only thing that bugs her is when Starbucks doesn’t decorate their coffee cups for the winter season. Really, everybody should just relax over this holiday greeting controversy and just accept whatever is said to them.

   Overall, it really doesn’t matter what greeting people use, or shouldn’t really matter. The holidays are meant to bring us together. So let’s not get all mad over a petty preference. Be happy and enjoy the season.