Merry Christmas Poll

The Great 'Christmas' vs. 'Holidays' Debate
Dec 2, 2008
-By Mark Dolliver NEW YORK Like mistletoe and spiked eggnog, it's becoming a December tradition: wrangling over whether store personnel and ads should say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays." Two new surveys find a general preference for the former option.Rasmussen Reports polling found 68 percent of respondents favoring "Merry Christmas," vs. 25 percent preferring "Happy Holidays." Men were especially likely to favor the "Christmas" version, with 71 percent doing so, vs. 65 percent of women.In a similar BIGresearch survey, 65 percent of respondents said they'd prefer that store employees say "Merry Christmas" to them, while 27 percent would rather hear "Happy Holidays." Moreover, 88 percent said they consider it "proper" for retailers to use the word "Christmas" in their ads.Inevitably, there's a partisan split in this seasonal debate. The Rasmussen poll found Republicans much more likely than Democrats (84 percent vs. 51 percent) to say they prefer "Merry Christmas." Conversely, Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to favor "Happy Holidays" (43 percent vs. 13 percent).Well, have a nice December!