Businesses and public institutions have been saying happy holidays for years up here, and merry Christmas has been taboo. It gets to the point of ridiculous when my kid's school will have a holiday tree in the lobby and a winter party at the end of December. But until recently, I had never heard anyone actually say happy holidays in real life.
That changed when I started driving a bus. Right around Christmas some people will wish me well when they get off the bus, and here's the thing: it's only college-age, hipsterish white people that say happy holidays. Old Chinese people, Muslim ladies in hijabs, Indian guys with turbans, they all wish me a merry Christmas.