‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Happy Holidays’: The debate over greetings in the US, explained

Origins of ‘Merry Christmas vs Happy Holidays’

Many have traced the “War on Christmas” claims back to the conservative TV channel Fox News, which promoted a book called The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought in 2005. Written by radio host John Gibson, it claimed, “In the United States of America, a nation overwhelmingly Christian, literally any sign of Christmas in public can now lead to complaints, litigation, angry protests, threats, and bruised feelings”.

Examples of the supposed diminishing importance of Christmas included brands, such as Starbucks, sometimes using the phrase “Happy Holidays” for their advertisements. Fox host Bill O’Reilly claimed the agenda aimed to “get religion out, [so] then you can pass secular progressive programs like legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, and gay marriage.”

But why say ‘Happy Holidays’?

“Happy Holidays” is preferred by some people over “Merry Christmas” due to multiple reasons. First, in a group setting it is possible that not everyone celebrates Christmas, also given the diverse ethnic and religious groups living in the US. Some may follow another religion or are not religious at all, and the greeting attempts to be more inclusive. Jewish people, for instance, celebrate the festival of Hanukkah around this time of the year. Others also say “Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays”.

For corporate entities too, it makes sense to appeal to as many people as possible to increase the size of their audience.

Second is the nature of US polity, where courts have often restricted displays of religious markers to uphold secularism, the view that the state (including public schools and the local government) cannot be seen aligning with a particular religion. The First Amendment to the Constitution includes the line: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.

While there is no evidence of a concerted scheme to “attack” Christmas, certain instances have added fuel to such beliefs. University of East Anglia professor Emma Long noted in a research article that due to the ambiguity on how public officials and institutions should act at the time of such festivals, at times, “some officials are overzealous in their actions and risk infringing on First Amendment rights, whether renaming Christmas trees as ‘giving trees’ or ‘friendship trees’, barring the use of Santa or wrapped gifts as decorations, or preventing voluntary religious observances.” (‘Tis the Season?: The Context and Significance of the “Merry Christmas”)

She added that it also “embodies a much wider discussion in American society about how to balance the historic dominance of Christianity with a modern understanding of the country’s religious diversity, how to understand the demands of the First Amendment in that context, and what it means to live in a culturally pluralistic society.” It is also seen as part of larger “culture wars” between conservatives and progressives. However, this issue is now far less polarising and has mainly seen only one side attempt to champion their cause.

Reduced recent debates around either, or

Several data sources point to how the choice of greeting also depends on one’s demographics and where they live – conservative or progressive states. Polling website FiveThirtyEight compared two surveys in 2013 and 2016, finding that “In both years, white evangelicals strongly favored ‘merry Christmas,’ while secular respondents prefer ‘happy holidays’ or ‘season’s greetings.’”

On the whole, surveys have found “Merry Christmas” to be more commonly preferred. But this may not be due to a sudden rise in religiosity. In fact, the role of religion in American public life, as well as the number of practising Christians, has been on a decline in recent years.

For instance, Pew Research Centre found in 2017 that though “Nine-in-ten Americans (90%) — and 95% of Christians — say they celebrate Christmas… Today, 46% of Americans say they celebrate Christmas as primarily a religious (rather than cultural) holiday, down from 51% who said this in 2013, with Millennials less likely than other adults to say they celebrate Christmas in a religious way.”

About half of Americans (52%) also said it didn’t matter how stores greet their customers, with “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays”. This share slightly rose, up from 46% in 2012.