Tim Engstrom, Pothole Prairie

Merry Christmas. Happy holidays. Season&8217;s greetings.

Every year for the past four or five years there has been political talk in December about whether people should say, &8220;Happy holidays,&8221; because it accommodates multiple beliefs. It is politically correct.

I get tired of the debate, but perhaps not for the same reasons as everyone else.

I think the listeners on both sides of the debate get silly over the whole thing. Here&8217;s an anecdote:

I once greeted someone with, &8220;Happy holidays,&8221; and the person responded with bluster, &8220;Merry Christmas.&8221; The emphasis on the word &8220;Christmas&8221; was perhaps a way of telling me &8220;Happy holidays&8221; didn&8217;t set well.

But I didn&8217;t mean it that way. Before this entire debate settled upon the country, I &8212; like others &8212; just greeted people. Sometimes I said one greeting and sometimes I said another, and without much thought other than the kindness intended.

Listeners who get offended over someone saying &8220;Happy holidays&8221; are no better than ones who get offended over someone saying &8220;Merry Christmas.&8221;

Why are we all so thin-skinned? Do we not see the irony?

People forget that freedom of speech shares the First Amendment with freedom of religion. If I say &8220;Merry Christmas&8221; to someone who isn&8217;t Christian, they shouldn&8217;t be offended, just as Christians shouldn&8217;t be offended by other greetings. Think about what is being said with &8220;Merry Christmas&8221;: &8220;I hope you feel merry on Dec. 25.&8221;

You don&8217;t have to be Christian to be merry on Dec. 25. Being merry is a universal human emotion. I&8217;m not offended by &8220;Happy Hannukah,&8221; &8220;Joyful Kwanzaa&8221; or &8220;Have a blessed Ramadan.&8221;

I feel only warmth in those greetings.

And I feel warmth when I&8217;m greeted with &8220;Happy holidays.&8221;

And if you have a problem with religion in greetings, think about this, too: There are plenty of comments said in these United States of America that we disagree with. That&8217;s how democracy works. At some level, you should come to expect it, even welcome it. The beauty of a melting pot is encounters with other traditions, other viewpoints, over ways of seeing the world.

We shouldn&8217;t side with less speech. We should favor more. Speak your mind. Say what you want. Take less offense to what others say.

In fact, I don&8217;t ever remember anyone saying people can&8217;t say &8220;Merry Christmas&8221; and should go for &8220;Happy holidays.&8221; I only remember the huge backlash. What sparked it? Anymore there is only backlash keeping the issue going and no spark.

Christians don&8217;t make a fuss over pagan symbols of bunnies and eggs in Easter. They make no bones over the pagan holidays of Halloween or May Day or over St. Patrick&8217;s Day becoming an excuse to drink excess quantities of alcohol. Most people I meet have no problem with calendars that list the holidays of multiple religions. Last year I attended a Christian-Jewish wedding that had traditions from both religions and it was just lovely. (The couple recently had a son. They are raising their child in the Jewish faith.) Most people can think of people who have other faiths or even agnostic or atheistic beliefs, yet they still like and even love them very much.

It seems religious diversity surrounds Christians more than we think.

So it is surprising there is such an outcry over &8220;Happy holidays.&8221; Can we drop the debate and warmly accept it when someone chooses any of the greetings available?

That is my Christmas wish.

From my family to yours, have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. Ho ho ho!

Tribune Managing Editor Tim Engstrom&8217;s column appears every Tuesday.