Does your hospital allow you to say "Merry Christmas"??

Nurses General Nursing

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Any american nurses working in a hospital in the USA that tells staff they can no longer say "Merry Christmas"? Are there hospitals here in our country that are forcing their staff to only say "happy holidays" and not allowing them to say "Merry Christmas"?

I'm just curious if this is becoming an issue in the nursing profession? I recently spoke to some public school teachers here in Florida who told me they can say happy holidays but they can't say Merry Christmas. I have read that many department stores and other retail businesses are no longer using the word Christmas, but replacing it with Happy Holidays and Season's Greetings.

I haven't heard of this being a trend in any hospitals in my area, but very curious if this is taking place in hospitals in other states?

Specializes in Critical Care.
What is the logic behind this? 70-85% of the American population is Christian. So we would rather not risk offending 15-20% of our poplulation as opposed to the rest? This is just some kind of logic that I have never understood...Can someone please explain this to me?

It's not about offending people.

As a nonreligious person, it doesn't bother me in the slightest...unless it's being used in the context of a veiled threat by someone addicted to Fox news and believes there is a "War on Christmas". When such a person says "Merry Christmas" their subtext is loaded with contempt, vitriol, and fear instead of the joyful greeting it ought to be.

I'd wager that most of us 15-20 per centers think similarly.

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Now if you're asking for the logic, it is quite simple. Businesses, which exist to make profits, changed their sale pitches from "Christmas sales" to "Holiday sales" in order to attract more purchases from that 15-20 percent of the population. It isn't based out of political correctness, it's based on maximizing your appeal to the largest possible market.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

I think good manners mean saying "Merry Christmas" to people who you know celebrate Christmas, and "Happy Holidays" to those you know don't celebrate it (including some Christians) or aren't sure about. I don't care if clerks tell me "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays;" I'm not religious, and when I was I didn't celebrate Christmas at Wal*Mart.

This was an issue in my Pediatrics rotation. I had to do a teaching project in the campus day care. The area is heavily Hispanic, so when I went to observe, I was surprised to find that 75% of the day care students were Somali.

During naptime, I chatted with the teachers about how to handle Christmas. It's a public school, so they couldn't mention Jesus or the nativity, but they weren't sure about Santa. They ended up emphasizing snow, and meeting with the parents about a party.

I worked in a coffee shop in a town with a large Jewish population. Some people got offended when wished a Merry Christmas, others said "I celebrate Haunakkah, but thank you." I'm Black, but I don't celebrate Kwanzaa, so I responde to "Happy Kwanzaa" the same way. The "Say Merry Christmas or else!" folks seem more interested in making other people bow to their religious beliefs than spreading good will.

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wow, i didn't know i'd receive so many replies! :loveya:

thank you everyone for your replies and opinions. i have learned a lot. this has been very eye opening. :specs:

thanks!

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What is the logic behind this? 70-85% of the American population is Christian. So we would rather not risk offending 15-20% of our poplulation as opposed to the rest? This is just some kind of logic that I have never understood...Can someone please explain this to me?

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Wishing you a Happy Holidays does in fact wish you a Merry Christmas--what's the problem with using it? What's the problem with using a term that you know is more encompassing than Merry Christmas? I'm confused about your apparent assertion that "Happy Holidays" is offensive to Christians. Is it really?

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

I think that 85% consists of a large amount of purely nominal 'Christians', who don't have any sort of active religious life, don't pray, don't attend church, don't have a strict moral code, etc...

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Specializes in Psychiatric.

I'm Pagan, and I say both Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas, depending on my mood LOL...like another poster said, for me it's about getting together and sharing love with family and friends...and historically speaking, the modern-day Christmas celebration is based on Pagan solstice celebrations, so my husband and I blend the celebration with the best of both worlds.

I don't go about personally trying to offend people, but I don't walk around on eggshells either, and I simply can't be bothered to know EVERYBODY'S personal preferences...I will take the time to learn my patients' needs, wants, and cultural desires...outside of that, I'm not too fussed about it...I'm tired of this PC society.:yawn:

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Allow me (to say "Merry Christmas")??

I'd like to see them try to stop me! (I'm 6 feet tall, and perimenopausal to boot).

I should add that I would not purposely say Merry Christmas to someone who was known to not celebrate.

:christmastree::reindeer::reef::candycane:

Yeah, the "allow me" thing got to me too. :nono:

I say Merry Christmas because it IS Christmas. Even if you don't celebrate it.

Silly stuff.

steph

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Specializes in CDI Supervisor; Formerly NICU.
I say Happy Holidays to patients and families. It's not that its more politically correct, I am just aware that there are people who are not Christian or Catholic.

But...it's the same holiday, still. Renaming it doesn't change the meaning of it. That's just semantics. If they don't celebrate Christmas, then why say anything at all?

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.
But...it's the same holiday, still. Renaming it doesn't change the meaning of it. That's just semantics. If they don't celebrate Christmas, then why say anything at all?

Because they might celebrate the Winter Solstice, like I do.

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Specializes in CDI Supervisor; Formerly NICU.

Are you offended when someone wishes you a merry Christmas?

There are an infinite number of possibilities for things people may or may not be celebrating. That is no reason to ban the well-wishes of people who happen to celebrate Christmas...which is a large portion of the population.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

Not at all. I celebrate Christmas, too. I just don't think there's anything wrong with saying "Happy Holidays". It's more inclusive and less presumtuous.

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Specializes in CDI Supervisor; Formerly NICU.

But, the real point is, do you think it's ok to say "Merry Christmas"?

I, personally, don't really care what people say. I'm not offended by merry Christmas, and I'm not offended by not hearing it. If people that don't celebrate the Christ part of Christmas, I don't have any problems with them saying "Happy holidays" or whatever.

Unfortunately, too many people believe that to make things fair, you have to eliminate the rights of the "merry Christmas" group. In this very forum---a professional forum, where good behavior usually runs rampant---those people were insinuated to be "wingnuts" by a respected member (with, as I type this, 11 'thank you' tags from other members).

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