Mike, taking over the soapbox from Ryan for a while, talks about Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays in a battle to the death.

While in my utopian world, I'd love it if everyone were saying "Merry Christmas", it is *not* a hill to die on, nor do I personally think that it should be for Christians in North America - after all, angry protesting and arguing over semantic definitions is not exemplary conduct befitting Christ (for those who believe).  (And didn't Christ argue with the Pharisees about semantic definitions anyway?)

Besides, forcing people to say Merry Christmas strikes me as a little bit anti-Christian anyway; after all, the central tenet of Christianity is that it is a *choice*.  The moment you try to force someone to "accept" Christianity you've veered away from it.  That's only my opinion as a Christian, however.

The below comic strip (from PVP, a webcomic I adore), sums up my feelings on the debate pretty accurately:
 
http://www.pvponline.com/archive.php3?archive=20051216