It's about the spirit of the season, and those who claim to be offended should really just relax a little.
We understand that for some people it's not Christmas that they celebrate at this time of year.
Perhaps it's Hanukkah or Ramadan. Perhaps is some kind of winter solstice celebration.
Some choose not to celebrate anything at all.
Others choose to celebrate more of an Xmas, without any religious connotations, but still having a big supper, a tree, and gifts.
But that doesn't mean that it's automatically offensive for someone to say Merry Christmas. Or Happy Hanukkah, for that matter.
Something doesn't have to be 100 per cent universal for it to be okay to be spoken aloud.
What is "Merry Christmas", after all?
It's a greeting or farewell that lights up the dark winter months a little.
It's an expression wishing someone happiness and joy, peace and love - the sentiments of the season.
We hope there's agreement that these are all good things.
We'd like to think that those who don't observe the religious holiday can look past the words in which they don't believe and embrace the spirit.
The spirit is worth a lot. And we are, after all, a mulitcultural country.
Surely that should involve more than just making everything so generic that it ceases to have any meaning at all, and we are all set adrift from the history behind the celebrations we observe.
We have become so desperate not to offend anyone that we're
sucking all the fun out of life.
The bottom line is, when somebody else's traditions and celebrations aren't hurting anyone, why try to force them to observe them only in dark corners where nobody else will see or hear any part of them?
So instead of starting a rant about how not everyone celebrates the Christ in Christmas next time someone wishes you a merry one, why not just smile and say thank-you?
Take it in the spirit in which it's intended.
Or you can say happy holidays in return.