Just because I’m a bit confurious (confused + curious) sometimes, I decided to search the library catalog using the word “holiday”. My reasons are a bit convoluted, but it boils down to – “Merry Christmas” vs. “Happy Holidays”.
Doing a subject search of the word holiday* with the asterisk, brings up 43 different headings. There are a couple of Billie Holiday entries, so let’s say 40 holiday entries. Granted many of the items listed under holiday are items about Christmas, but there are many about other various holidays celebrated in the United States as well as other countries. Not all of the holidays are Christian, either.
So, Christmas is a holiday, but not the only holiday listed in the library catalog.
Next I did a Google search using the search terms “December holiday*”. 853,000,000 results are listed. WOW!
Like most people worldwide, I click on the link to the Wikipedia entry. I jump to the December entries. Wikipedia very nicely separates its entries by several categories. In total, I count 42 holidays. 42 in December alone!
Again, confurious, I count 25 holidays listed for the last 10 days of December. Okay, several of the holidays are celebrated on the same day. As an example, Anastasia of Sirmium feast day, Decemberween, Malkh, Newtonmas, Quaid-e-Azam’s Day and Christmas are all celebrated on December 25th. Again, WOW!
I can be a traditionalist, I do, and will say “Merry Christmas”. I also have no problem saying “Happy Holidays!”
As I finish writing this, I guess I will be more apt to say “Happy Holidays”, as I have no idea which of the 6 you may celebrate on the 25thof December.
So, in the end “Happy Holidays to you, and yours!”
Ann Russell, Technology Librarian