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Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays? Americans Are Apathetic
Tweet Share on Facebook December 21, 2009 Comment (31)By Jodie Allen, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Sharing the view of the majority of U.S. News readers (judging by the "Are the Holidays Too Secular?" vote when I checked it recently), about half of Americans (52 percent) say they are bothered at least to some degree by the commercialization of Christmas. This, according to a 2005 Pew Research Center poll, includes 26 percent who say that they are bothered by it a lot.
But most Americans, whatever their preferences for holiday celebrations and public displays thereof, are not highly concerned about the matter. When given the option of hearing "Merry Christmas" or a less religious greeting—like "Happy Holidays"—in stores and businesses, Americans do choose Merry Christmas by a 60 percent-to-23 percent margin. But when specifically given "doesn't matter" as an option, a 45 percent-plurality express no preference for how they are greeted during the holiday season—42 percent want Merry Christmas and 12 percent prefer the less religious greeting.
