Happy holidays is a perfectly respectful and, frankly, appropriate thing to say. There are many of us who do not celebrate the holidays because of a belief in Christ or because of spiritual obligation. We celebrate the opportunity to all have a day off where a family can actually get together at one time and see each other. We celebrate because the holidays are a time for family.
We say happy holidays because we aren’t in denial of the fact that this is a country where people have varied belief systems and cultures. Happy holidays is all inclusive. It doesn’t matter if you’re Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, or a nontheist—a wish for the holidays to be joyful is still sincere, and still applicable.
This holiday season is not dependent upon religious practices and the joy that goes with it is not reserved for those who celebrate it for one sectarian reason or another.
I speak as an atheist who is going to happily celebrate this holiday season not by going to midnight mass or by putting out a tree, but by being joyful that I have an opportunity to see my family and friends. I give gifts to show my appreciation to the people that I love for simply being there to be cared about.
/rant
People complaining about this is a bit of a pet peeve. Not that you’re complaining about it, Gecko. I just hear it a lot, especially because I read the editorials in the newspaper. Augh. If I hear one more person say that I should be Christian BECAUSE I get a day off, I am going to scream.