Talk:Merry Christmas

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[edit] Common Practice?

The last paragraph suggests it's "OK" (not sure by whose standards) to reply to a wish of "Merry Christmas" with a wish for a holiday of the recipient's choosing, which will induce the original greeter to respond in kind. I'm not sure this is common practice, nor good advice for someone traveling to the U.S. In fact, it seems more confrontational than the increasingly discredited "Happy Holidays." A more neutral reply for someone not eager to engage in a religious debate might be a simple "thank you," "the same to you," or "and a Happy New Year!" Lindmere 20:36, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

That was added here: [1]... I debated removing it when I did a partial revert of his pov changes, but wasn't too sure. Sortan 20:38, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

I removed it. Marskell 07:02, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

This is the problem with Political Correctness (PC), people can't even talk to each other or share well wishes without some 'PC police' telling them that they are wrong and warning that this will start a fight. Words have meaning. If you are celebrating a holiday and we are to embrace diversity we shouldn't be forced to obfuscate our thoughts or beliefs.

The question at hand was not whether one response is "better" than another, but whether the original suggestion truly represented common practice in the United States or other English-speaking countries. I live in the United States and have never heard anyone respond to "Merry Christmas" with "Eid Mubarak," "Joyous Yule," "Happy Newtonmas," or anything other than "and a Merry Christmas to you!" Maybe it would be a better world if they did, but I don't think they do. Since there seems to be no consensus on what "common practice" is in Anglophone countries, I think it was appropriate to remove the usage section.

I was unaware that "thank you" was considered passive-aggressive or a sneaky attempt to obfuscate one's true beliefs. Perhaps next time I offered a plate of cookies, instead of saying "Thank you!", I will say "No, I prefer cheese instead." 63.138.34.34 19:12, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

Although it faces some critcism that has been esclating in the past few years, the term "merry Christmas" proves to be a generic term to show onece condolences for the various holliday celebrations in American culture.