The Christmas bit in the OP reminded me of some Muslims who devise fatwas on why Muslims shouldn't say "Merry Christmas" to anyone. But to me, it's almost the same as saying "Happy Birthday," "Happy Mother's Day," "Happy New Year" and so on.
The important thing to understand is that people have different reasons for celebrating Christmas and the same applies to saying "Merry Christmas" (depending on whatever their beliefs are). Some atheists, for example, I think celebrate Christmas only as a cultural/social part of their lives, i.e. as a chance to meet each other, have parties, drink, dance, go outside, etc. That's why they are not against saying the phrase "Merry Christmas" either.
Today, Christmas is not exclusively a religious holiday although I do believe that it was originally a religious (and possibly a pagan) holiday as opposed to a cultural one.
The important thing to understand is that people have different reasons for celebrating Christmas and the same applies to saying "Merry Christmas" (depending on whatever their beliefs are). Some atheists, for example, I think celebrate Christmas only as a cultural/social part of their lives, i.e. as a chance to meet each other, have parties, drink, dance, go outside, etc. That's why they are not against saying the phrase "Merry Christmas" either.
Today, Christmas is not exclusively a religious holiday although I do believe that it was originally a religious (and possibly a pagan) holiday as opposed to a cultural one.
