Who among us hasn't received a poorly thought-out picture of text, arguing about this-or-that? In this case, this gem rolled through my social media from my niece, who is otherwise a thoughtful and caring person.
WHAT A CROCK!!!!.....we can't say Merry Christmas now we have to say Happy Holidays. we an't call it a Christmas tree, it's now called a holiday tree because it might offend someone? If you don't like our "customs" and it offends you so much then LEAVE.... I will help you pack. They are called customs and we have our traditions. If you agree with this post as your status!! IT'S MY FREEDOM TO SAY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Do you have what it takes to post this? I did and I will continue to say "Merry Christmas"
Where do you start with something like that? I'm not sure who this "they" is who's somehow forbidding everyday citizens from saying "Merry Christmas". And yes, we do have customs... a lot of them, from a lot of different traditions and backgrounds. I'm assuming this fictitious scenario is taking place in the U.S., where there's no single defined "customs" to follow.
I started by putting a face to the antagonist (her uncle), so it's understood that she's not fighting some faceless "other".
Which country do you recommend I go?
There's two circumstances where this actually applies.
The first is corporate. If the company policy is that you say "Merry XYZ", and you don't like that policy, then you should quit. It's actually a good thing for businesses to try to be inclusive. It's their prerogative to be welcoming to everyone.. not just the people who think they have special status in society.
After all, there's more than one holiday happening, with more than one religion. They don't deserve the angst.
The second circumstance is government. We've learned from history that the best way to maximize freedom for everyone, and to keep the peace, is to keep the Government entirely neutral on religion. That means no endorsement, no favoritism, and no oppression.
These constitutional amendments weren't established by nonbelievers to oppress believers. They were established by believers amid Christian Variant A (Catholics) and Christian Variant B (Protestants) being at each others' throats, slaughtering each other.
Outside of these two circumstances, no one actually cares whether you say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays". The spirit of each gesture is likely to be reciprocated.
Her response was "well said". I was expecting more of a fight.
Someone else did pipe in, briefly complaining about "political correctness", which eerily always seems to coincide with the person wanting to be a jerk without repercussions. I'm not sure why being welcoming and inclusive is a bad thing.
Go right on ahead and continue your traditions, customs and gestures. Have a blast. You just can't force the rest of us to comply.