On Twitter last night, this twat declared that wishing "Merry Christmas" to someone who is not Christian (or Xtian, as she put it) is offensive, arrogant, insensitive, and bad manners (never mind the hypocrisy that calling Christians Xtians is highly offensive). Now, I know that she's one of those overly sensitive idiots, because when I deigned to call her unsolicited opinion obnoxious, she decided that meant I was Anti-Semitic. Her abject stupidity aside, I had to discuss this sentiment she expressed.

Wishing someone a Merry Christmas is in no way insisting that they have to celebrate Christmas. It doesn't mean they have to buy a Christmas tree or believe in Jesus or hang stockings on their chimneys or tell their kids about Santa Claus. They don't have to be jolly or sing carols or exchange gifts. The sentiment expressed is simply wishing the recipient a happy holiday season.

In addition, Christmas has really become much more than just a Christian holiday. Christmas Day is a national, federal holiday. The sentiment of a merry Christmas can be seen as simply as a desire for the recipient to enjoy the entirely secular day off from work that falls on December 25th.

Finally, anyone who is vocalizing a positive sentiment, who is just wishing someone well, hoping for that person's happiness and well-being, is not doing anything offensive. The only people who could possibly be offended by that would be someone who (1) likes to just start shit, (2) is overly sensitive beyond what any rational person could reasonably expect, and/or (3) a fucking moron.

This doesn't mean that you can't find it annoying. Of course you can be annoyed, whether you don't want to have a good day or you don't celebrate any holidays or you're just a bah, humbug type of person. I get annoyed when people tell me "have a blessed day", but I'm not offended. For fuck's sake, they're hoping that my day is a good one – what could I find offensive in that? If my Jewish friends wished me a happy Chanukah or my Hindi friends wished me a most felicitous Diwali or my Muslim friends wished me a gracious Eid, I would appreciate being included and, more importantly, appreciate the positive well wishing.

Am I missing anything? Is there a good reason for a non-Christian to be offended by a "Merry Christmas" or a non-Jew to be offended by a "Happy Chanukah" or anything like that? Or is it just a case of someone trying to find a way to be offended for the sake of being offended?

Please don't hesitate to leave your opinion, even if it disagrees with mine. Unlike Margalit, I do not delete, edit, or moderate comments that are not spam.