Robert Hannon
Staff Writer

Twas’ the night before finals and all through the dorms, all students were studying (as was the norm). Excited for Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate), there arose such a bellow right smack dab in the center of Mellow. It was a shouting collegiate, not knowing what to say. Was it Merry Christmas or simply Happy Holiday? The students were twitching, their backs erect, trying their very hardest to be politically correct.

Political correctness is a very relevant issue in today’s society. Some stick by their beliefs and wish everyone they see a Happy/Merry Culture-specific holiday and others tend to go to a more general “Happy Holidays” feel.
In this writer’s opinion, I feel that this is pointless. If someone wishes someone else a Merry Christmas, there is no ill intent there and should thus not be taken offensively. “Merry Christmas” is not really a statement that bears much contempt. A devil-Santa who prefers persecution to presents is the kind of imagery that comes to mind and this, in my opinion, seems kind of silly.

If someone were to come up to me and say “Happy Hanukah,” I would not be offended. I am a Christian who would respond by simply saying “Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you.” Now there is nothing wrong with saying “Happy Holidays” either. If one does not celebrate a holiday around this time, and one wishes to bring others joy, simply saying “Happy Holidays” is acceptable. Or just, Do Not Say Anything. In grade school, kids are taught “if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

In a recent Gallup poll, the number of people who preferred “Happy Holidays” to “Merry Christmas” dropped by 12% since 2004. This is most likely due to the fact that Christmas has become a brand. Commercialization has overrun this religious holiday and made it a secular day and it is now even a national holiday. Plus, Clement C. Moore’s poem, “The Night Before Christmas” would not have the same effect if it ended “and happy holidays to all and to all a good night.”