By Alyssah Shear

As December rolls around, the thought of Christmas comes to mind for nine out of ten people, but does that mean that a regular greeting should be “ Merry Christmas”?

Although Christmas is widely celebrated, December also represents the holidays of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Advent (the start of the Christmas season). “I don’t really care! If somebody is Christian I want them to tell me ‘Merry Christmas’ and if they prefer to say ‘Happy Holidays’ then that’s cool too, “ says Sadie Strunk. Many people have agreed and said that it does not matter how people greet them during the holiday season. Although when greeting someone in a professional scene, many people believe you should not put a single religion in favor, but casually you should say as you wish.The word “holiday” is a compound of the words “holy” and “day” and according to the Daily Bulletin, wishing someone a “Happy Holiday” is to wish them happiness for an individual day of religious significance, but “Merry Christmas” also has religious significance. December is mostly filled with holidays that originated from a religious significance but were taken in by non-believers, so saying “Happy Holidays” was used commonly to those who believed in different religions before non-believers started celebrating the holidays.The greetings that are commonly used during the holiday season are said to have religious significance but many of the holidays celebrated during this time of year are also based off of a religion. The debate on rather you should say “Merry Christmas” or “ Happy Holidays” is still at large, but as sophomore Marisha Perez says “We should all be equal no matter what religion you believe in or what holidays you celebrate. Greet me with whatever you would like; it shouldn’t offend anyone.”Overall it shouldn’t matter what religion you are, say what you want. A greeting should be what you feel comfortable saying, and you should always be yourself. If you want to say “Merry Christmas,” then say it. If you want to say “Happy Holidays,” then say it. Just be you.