What do you say?

I use both.Just what every one I happen too say.If someone says Merry Christmas to me I say it back.If someone says Happy Holidays to me I say that back.

I say Merry Christmas.

If I don't know the person very well, I will say Happy Holidays! My Christian friends get a hearty Merry Christmas! Jewish friends get Happy Chanukah.

I'm Jewish, so I dont celebrate Christmas. But if someone wishes me Merry Christmas, I am fine with it and wish them the same. As another poster here noted, it's the feeling that's important, not the words.

I say happy holidays just to be generic. Plus I feel it's not really a religous thing anymore, it's cultural. Jewish/Muslim/ whatever/ atheists get holidays at Christmas too!
I gave one of my favourite clients a Christmas present, with "peace" cards, because I know she's Jewish, but I still wanted to give her something.

I work in a call center and my work makes us say "Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays" at the end of each call. If you forget to say that you get marked down in points on quality calls. I really dislike that job. Everything is to script. It drives me crazy saying the same thing over and over again. It's so bad I woke up asking my husband his credit card number in the middle of the night!!!!!!!!

I say merry christmas..

I really don't say anything per say. But when I do say something it's usually have a good holiday, or Have a good Christmas. I figure people enjoy which ever I say because it's the holidays and to be offended by what someone says to you heartfelted is just not nice.

Originally Posted by Katzyn

I try to remember to say "Happy Holidays", but usually slip and say "Merry Christmas", since I do celebrate the actual holiday, not the reason the holiday was invented (I'm atheist).

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Exactly the same for me!

Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

Depends on who I'm around. If I'm around Jewish people (part of my family is Jewish) then I'll say "Happy Hanukkah" If I'm around my Christian friends then I'll say "Merry Christmas".

I'm not offended by Happy Holidays though, that's good to use if you don't know what holiday a person celebrates. I do however dislike it when ppl use "merry x-mas"

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Abbreviations used as Christian symbols have a long history in the church. The letters of the word "Christ" in Greek, the language in which the New Testament was written, or various titles for Jesus early became symbols of Christ and Christianity. For example, the first two letters of the word Christ (cristoV, or as it would be written in older manuscripts, CRISTOS) are the Greek letters chi (c or C) and rho (r or R). These letters were used in the early church to create the chi-rho monogram (see Chrismons), a symbol that by the fourth century became part of the official battle standard of the emperor Constantine. Even when written 'x-mas', the term should be pronounced Christmas, not 'ex mas'.

Originally Posted by SwampWitch

I mirror what the person says to me. I don't usually initiate it.

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Same here. When I do initiate it, it's usually with someone who I know well, so I know what to say, and I use the appropriate holiday.

It's weird, my neighbors are Jewish and they brought us over some Christmas goodies and kept saying, "Merry Christmas" to us and all I could say was "thank you" bc I had no clue what to say back, though I know "Happy Hanukkah" would have been fine, I just wasn't sure... wow I'm a loser! haha

Even though I don't celebrate. I do say "Merry Christmas" mostly in spite of being politically correct. Sometimes I say "Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukan(sp?) or whatever you celebrate!"

People say "God bless you for the things that you do" all the time. I am not offended in the least. They think I am nice, and that's nice.

Merry Christmas, no matter who the person is.

I say Happy Holidays for the most part....depends on the day.... The week of Christmas and New Years is holiday season, and I wish people a safe and happy holiday season

Those who I talk to on Christmas, if I know they celebrate it, then it's Merry Ho-Ho or Merry Christmas. If I don't know what they celebrate, then I stick with happy holidays.

I say merry christmas!

I say Merry Christmas because that is what my family and I celebrate.