Happy Saturnalia, Y'all

Jesse Walker | December 21, 2004

A footnote to Julian's fine article from yesterday:

To the extent that I care, which is not much, I'm a "Merry Christmas" man. There's nothing offensive about the phrase -- it's a friendly greeting, for heaven's sake -- and "Happy Holidays" does seem pretty generic and bland. I say this as someone who is not now and never has been a Christian.

But launching a campaign for "Merry Christmas" is as silly and P.C. as banishing it. From here, it looks like a lobby flexing its muscles over an empty culture-war battle -- kind of like when a civil rights group wastes its resources fighting the Confederate flag. As far as I'm concerned, if you really don't think it's appropriate for a clerk to tell you "Happy Holidays," you should reply with a smile and a "Merry Christmas." And if you really don't think it's appropriate for a clerk to tell you "Merry Christmas," you should reply with a smile and a "Happy Holidays." All these power games -- the boycotts, the media crusades -- are just stupid. The republic can withstand a little variety in its semi-anonymous phony cheer.