Happy Holidays Vs Merry Christmas

Every year we have to hear about how it's so wrong to say Happy Holidays and we should all be saying Merry Christmas instead. I have news for you Christmas people. The holidays is not just Christmas. Here is a short list of some common holidays that are celebrated around the same time of year.

New Year - Celebrated December 31st on into the early hours of January 1st.
Hogmanay - Same as new year in the Scottish tradition.
Berchtoldstag - Same as new year in the  Switzerland and Liechtenstein traditions.
Malanka - The Russian new year celebrated January 13th.
Hanukkah - While it varies a bit, it falls somewhere from late November to late December.
Kwanzaa - Celebrated December 26th to January 1st.
Chalica - Starts the first Monday in December and lasts seven days according to Unitarian Universalists.
Winter Solstice - Celebrated whenever the winter solstice takes place. This year it happens to be on December 22nd.
Dydd Santes Dwynwen - The Welsh equivalent to valentine's day celebrated January 25th.
Festivus - Celebrated December 23rd.
Global Family Day - Takes place on January 1st.
Handsel Monday - A Scotland and Northern England tradition that takes place the first Monday after January 12th.
HumanLight - Celebrated on December 23rd.
Junkanoo - Celebrated in the Bahamas every December 26th.
Klozum - Celebrated by the Dutch on December 5th.
Makar Sankranti - A Hindu tradition celebrated between January 13th to the 15th.
The Montol Festival - An annual festival in Penzance, Cornwall, England, UK, held on December 21st.
Saturnalia - A celebration held on December 23rd.
Sinterklaas -  A Northern Netherlands version of Christmas held on December 6th.
Sol Invictus - A Roman solstice holiday celebrated on December 25th. (Most scholars believe this to be the original Christmas.)
Super Bowl Sunday - While not technically a holiday it seems as such to many people and takes place end of January or the beginning of February.
International Sweater Vestival - Takes place on the second Friday after Thanksgiving.
Wren Day - Celebrated in Ireland and a few other places on December 26th.
Zartosht no-diso - The Zoroastrian religion has their day of mourning December 26th.

I could have went on for a long while longer but I figured you would get the idea that there are many things included as Holidays. Granted, most of these are from other countries. However, the US is a melting pot of all kinds of traditions from all over the Earth. Many of these are celebrated by communities and families all over the country.

Since I don't know what people are going to be celebrating or even mourning. I choose to say Happy Holidays so I don't have a need to run down a list every single time. I don't want to make wild guesses about what people believe or their heritage.

When you insist on saying Merry Christmas you think you are spreading the joy of when your savior born. Later to be tortured and killed. That is all well and good, but the rest of the world thinks you are a self centered jerk for only taking into account your traditions and beliefs. Then again, what do I know? I'm just a average guy named Rug, but that is what I think. Oh, and Happy Holidays!

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