You’ve all seen the memes that are "weird things about me". Well, here’s one. I get at least 6 newsletters a week from various churches. Sometimes, more. See, we were church shopping for quite a while, and if you attend a church once and fill out their visitor card, prepare yourself for hordes of mail.

So, I read the pastor’s messages in these newsletters all the time. I don’t know why, other than I am an obsessive reader and sometimes I run out of things to read.

Lately, it seems all the pastors in every single newsletter I get are writing about stores wishing customers "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". They write this as if this is something we, as Christians, should be very angry about. I’ve been mulling it over for several days.

Then, Sunday, part of the message at my church was…you guessed it…our pastor (who, normally I really love) was ranting about stores saying "Happy Holidays". And half the church was "Amen"ing him. Oy.

See, to me, saying "Happy Holidays" is not an affront to Christians- it is a way to be inclusive to everyone. Especially since there are plenty of other people who celebrate other gift-giving holidays during this time of year. Retailers especially are doing best by hedging their bets. Not to mention, we’re covering a LOT of holidays here, not just the Christian ones, but holidays like Thanksgiving and New Year’s. It’s the holiday season, and it’s faster to just say, "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and hey- hope your Thanksgiving was great too!"

What about you Shak-ers? Are you guys more likely to wish people a "Happy Holidays" or is it "Merry Christmas" or nothing?