While some prefer the former — along with its
equally benign counterpart “Seasons Greetings” — others argue that the latter
is more pertinent and pointed and that people should simply say it to avoid
being so politically correct.
So where, statistically, does the nation fall
on this issue? Well, it’s actually quite complicated and it depends on how the
question is asked, but the latest poll on the subject might actually surprise
those who are wedded to “Merry Christmas.”
The Public Religion Research Institute released new survey results today, which indicate that more Americans are actually more supportive of the benign and general “Happy Holidays” than the definitive “Merry Christmas” greeting.
According to the research, 49 percent of
Americans believe that stores and businesses should use the more general
phraseology to be respectful of peoples’ diverse faiths, whereas 43 percent
disagree with this sentiment.
An additional eight percent did not know or
refused to answer the question.
Respondents were asked, “Do you think stores
and businesses should greet their customers with ‘Happy Holidays’ or ‘Seasons
Greetings’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas’ out of respect for people of different
faiths, or not.”
Credit: Public Opinion
Support for “happy holidays” is up five
percentage points when compared to 2010, when 44 percent of respondents
answered the same way. In that year, 49 percent expressed more support for the
traditional “merry Christmas” greeting.
Past polls have found
that changing the wording of the question has an impact on the results.
The Pew Research Center explained this phenomenon last year when it asked for
Americans’ preferences on the “Happy Holidays” vs. “Merry Christmas” debate:
When the question is presented as a choice
between “Merry Christmas” and the less religious terms, 57% pick “Merry
Christmas” and 27% select the less religious terms. (In this instance, even
without “it doesn’t matter” presented as an option, 15% volunteer that they
don’t have a preference.)
But when “it doesn’t matter” is added as an option, it
draws roughly the same amount of support as “Merry Christmas”; 42% say they
prefer “Merry Christmas,” 12% prefer the less religious terms and 46% say it
doesn’t matter. There has been almost no change since 2005, when we asked the same question.
So, there you have it. It’s complicated. We
thought we’d ask you where you stand on the issue as well, so take the poll,
below:
