My Muslim girlfriend finds this whole thing rather silly.  No one wishes her
a happy Eid, and she's fine with that -- in fact, she's a bit put off if a
non-believer tries to horn in on her sacred day.  On the other hand, anyone
wishing her a "Merry Christmas" recieves a smile and a thank you in reply.

My all-time favorite story in this regard happened at my old job.  Before
entering the museum field, I worked on the trading floor of the Chicago
Mercantile Exchange.  In addition to the price boards, they had a large
electronic message board for general information.

One year, on December 23 or so, the message appeared: "Merry Christmas." 
That lasted about an hour or so.  Somebody apparently complained, and the
board was changed to "Merry Christmas & Hanukah" (which fell late that
year).  That was good for about two hours, but after lunch it had changed
again.  Apparently, somebody else objected to the spelling of "hanukah," and
insisted on adding the "C" at the beginning.  This, unfortunately, exceeded
the maximum character length of the sign, so the message became "Merry Xmas
& Chanukah".  That only lasted about half an hour before someone else
complained about taking the "Christ" out of "Christmas."  Finally, in
desperation, they put up a generic "Happy Holidays" and left it at that.

A triumph of tolerance and respect for diversity?  Or craven cowardice in
the face of PC nannyism?  I leave that to greater minds than mine to sort
out.  I merely wish everyone on this list a Merry Christmas!  (Those who do
not observe Christmas are free to be merry on another day of their choosing,
at no additional cost.)

Eugene Dillenburg

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