In recent years, there has been much talk of a so-called "war on Christmas" that seeks to eliminate all references to the religious nature of the holiday from the public sphere. Stores have dropped the traditional "Merry Christmas" greeting in favor of the generic "Happy Holidays", nativity scenes are being prohibited from public lands, and some cities have even tried to rename Christmas to the more generic "Winterval". While some put the blame on political correctness run amok, others pin the focus on religious minorities and the perception that they may be offended at overtly Christian references. Jews may have Hanukkah to protect them from getting coal in their stockings, but Muslims are making an easy target for those looking for a scapegoat. Not, mind you, because of anything Muslims are doing, but because some of those attempting to secularize Christmas cite the fear of offending Muslims as their reason. "We cant go out and give a Muslim child a Jesus doll," explained Marine Sgt. Paul McCawley, spokesperson for Toys for Tots, which passes out gifts to needy children every December (and which refuses to accept donations of Jesus dolls). "Itd be like giving a boy a makeup kit." Retailers are hiding behind Muslims as well. "We would definitely not say 'Merry Christmas'," said Crate & Barrel spokesperson Betty Kahn, citing Muslim customers as an example of those the store wishes not to offend. A British school even tried to make their Christmas dinner halal (while 20% of its students are Muslim, none of them asked for it), but parent complaints forced them to reconsider. And with those sentiments, the inevitable backlash - 'tis the season for another campaign against the US Postal Service's Eid stamp. But this year, some Muslims are making a pre-emptive strike against the notion that they are Grinches. In the UK, Muslims stood with Christians in fighting the "Winterval" proposal. "The desire to secularize religious festivals is in itself offensive to both our communities," said Dr. Ataullah Siddiqui, vice-chair of the campaign. Efforts to secularize Christmas "will tend to backfire badly on the Muslim community in particular," added Anglican bishop David Gillett. Elsewhere, Muslims are lending support to the beleaguered holiday. "If they call it the Christmas season, it's fine with me," said Newark, NJ shopper Iqbal Aziz. "I don't feel bad," commented Wilmington, DE resident Khorshed Alam on Christian-themed ads. "You have your right to do it." Other Muslims are embracing the opportunity to help decorate their neighbor's homes (or even their own) and sharing views on Mary and what an Islamic nativity scene would look like. And some Muslims are finding their own unique ways to mark the holiday. "Christmas is a religious festival," says Saleem Kiowai of the Muslim Council of Wales. "It does not need to be neutralized."

I personally think there should be a happy medium somewhere. We own a busy franchise retail store and my staff is instructed to say "Happy Holidays". Nothing wrong with being inclusive. As for public schools, I don't believe songs or lesson of a religious nature should be part of the curriculuum (particularly in Elementary schools). There are many faith traditions that do not celebrate Christmas, and children often feel marginalized if they have to be left out. Christians should be allowed to celebrate their holiday and other faiths who do not celebrate Christmas should also be respected.

I agree with you peace4all 100% because the strength of our country here stems from our diversity and our ability to tolerate other cultures, creeds, religions, etc.. Unfortunately there are those who wish to marginalize for example Muslims or Buddhists because they came in the American scene much later than say Christians and unfortunately Jews. Nevertheless, "Happy Holidays" is appropriate. I believe firmly in separation of church and state and maintaining a secular American government that is fair to everyone. Instead we have Christian Armageddonists and Jewish Zionists in control of everything from media to government and they are trying really hard to make life difficult for Muslims. The funny thing is that Muslims are here to stay whether they like it or not.

I instruct all the staff in my shop to say Merry Christmas (which i think is more appropriate than Happy Holidays, considering it is a Christian festival).. and everyone is happy with it... Even tourists that barely speak English smile and say you too!

True tolerance is leaving the Christian festival as it is, not secularizing it and reducing it to non-descript holiday.

>True tolerance is leaving the Christian festival<

Yes, it is a Christian holiday. What do you do then when religions based on the lunar calender happen to have their holidays or months coincide with Christmas? It so happened that Ramadan and Hanukkah occurred during X-mas time. Unless you are a Christian fascist, how would you include these people? In some parts of the country such as East or West coasts where there tend to be more diversity (Muslim, Hindu, Kike, Buddhists, Christian Orthodox who celebrate X-mas at a latter time) what do you do then? with all do fairness we need to separate church and state and stop thinking of this country as a white dominated Christian country, because it leads to xenophobia and criminal behavior. The birth rate of minorities should handle the job nicely. The founding fathers might have been Christian, but their vision was to include all of humanity.

The majority should still be able to practise its religion though without minorties feeling "dominated" as you put it...
To put the shoe on the other foot: How do you include non-muslims in Ramadan? or if you're Jewish How do you include non-Jews in Hanukkah? You dont really.. the thing is, people should be able to practise whatever religion they have without anyone else minding or feeling offended/excluded... and if the majority happens to be Christian at the moment (you're right that it probably wont be in the future) then they should be able to say Merry Christmas

Also, I forgot to mention, state and religion are seperated... and it is unconstitutional to mix the two in any way. The 'state' is the decision making Government, not individuals with a Christian greeting around Christmas!

I don't think separation of Church and the state is the issue here. We are talking about individuals/businesses celebrating their religious holiday. They should have the freedom to say 'Merry Christmas' without any reservation what so ever. It is not any different when we say Eid Mubarak in my muslim majority country. Do we stop saying that since we have Hindus, Budhists or Christians in our midst? No and that is fine as well. It is part and parcel of the religious freedom.

On the other hand, the claim by the Christian right about the so called 'war on christmas' is also very stupid. If a business like Walmart chooses to use secular greetings, it is their choice, nobody has the right to force them to use 'Merry Christmas'.

>>If a business like Walmart chooses to use secular greetings, it is their choice, nobody has the right to force them to use 'Merry Christmas'.<<

That is really what I am trying to get at. Which is why I don't see the point of this thread. It seems like a common sense thing. However, we have right wing religious nut cases who want to exclude minority groups by adopting an attitude of "Merry X-Mas or Bust" = "You are with us or against us". If people choose to say Merry X-Mas, Happy Hanukkah, or Ramadan Kareem that is their personal choice which shouldn't be forced down anyone's throat.

Considerably, this "war on Christmas" deal is good for absolutely nobody. Many people get the impression they should be offended by all this hubbub because somebody got upset about a trend of secularization. Now, businesses are the biggest losers, risking possible insult by giving either greeting.

We own a retail franchise and my employees are instructed to use "Happy Holidays" which I feel is appropriate and inclusive of all our customers. It is ridiculous that someone might feel offended by an inclusive greeting, imagine how they would feel if the shoe was on the other foot and they had to hear "happy kwanza" 10 times a day. The conservatives are all about protecting rights when it comes to themselves but could care less about anyone else.

peace4all, Do you think Egyptians should stop referring to Ramadan in public so minorities there feel included?