Happy Holi-days!!
I used to think that saying Happy Holidays was a nice way of including all the holidays into one saying; for example, ‘Happy Thanksgiving,’ ‘Merry Christmas,’ ‘Happy Hanukkah’ & ‘Happy New Year.’ I was an adult before I ever realized that this was not an all inclusive phrase, but an exclusive one. One to exclude Christ from Christmas.
Recent, though, it occurred to me to look up the origin of the word ‘holiday.’ We go on holiday if you’re British, and we celebrate holidays throughout they year. Most holidays aren’t around Christmastime, actually. We celebrate President’s Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Fourth of July, etc. Really, the ‘holidays’ does refer to the largest grouping – late November through New Year’s.
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