4 ms·

I think this is driven by the rejection of political correctness. In an ironic twist, I get the sense that more people are put off by politically correct langua

I think this is driven by the rejection of political correctness. In an ironic twist, I get the sense that more people are put off by politically correct language than are accomodated. If there's a flaw in this strategy, it is that minorities are marginalized. You might avoid offending a Jewish (just an example) minority by using the term "Christmas", but you'll engender an emotional reaction in a larger number of people. By the numbers, this is a positive result. The question is whether or not you're ok with offending the minority, and to what degree?

inuhj 15y ago
You could use last name as a predictor and send out Happy Hanukkah emails.
- billpatrianakos 15y ago
  You could but shouldn't. Because Christmas is a huge cultural deal in addition to a religious celebration, saying Merry Christmas to a non Christian would be far better than saying Happy Hanukkah to someone with a Jewish sounding last name and getting it wrong.
reuven 15y ago
Not all minorities are offended by mentions of Christmas. I'm Jewish, and find the whole "Happy Holidays" thing to be bizarre and unnecessary. Christmas is a major Christian holiday. Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday. The only thing that they have in common is that they both take place at roughly the same time of year. If you're Christian, and want to celebrate Christmas, then that's great; go for it! Don't go watering down your holiday messages, or attempt to include Hanukkah in your celebrations. (Government and the public sphere is a different thing, at least in the US.) I live in Israel nowadays, where Christmas exists mostly as an item on the TV news. But I still find it amazing that anyone would be offended when someone expresses excitement and positive feelings about their own holidays. Meanwhile, I found this marketing test to be fascinating, and a great demonstration of the need to actually test, rather than just go with gut feelings.
- bradleyland 15y ago
  I lay no claim that all minorities will be offended, only that a minority population exists that will be offended. My personal preference is to just use the language you want. I'm of the generation that rejected the PC cultural influences developed by our aging parents. My words are merely a caution against blindly following the numbers. The impact of "Merry Christmas" vs "Happy Holidays" may be innocuous, but you will inevitably face more impactful decisions where the best conversion may come at the price of marginalizing a minority unfairly.
  - anamax 15y ago
    > I lay no claim that all minorities will be offended, only that a minority population exists that will be offended. There's always someone who will be offended, no matter what you do. (Example - some folks are offended by "Happy Holidays", and the reasons are not mutually consistent.) Some minorities are worth worrying about but others aren't, and they're not the same in every situation.
    - bradleyland 15y ago
      > Some minorities are worth worrying about but others aren't, and they're not the same in every situation. That's my point exactly. A direct quote from the post you're replying to: > My words are merely a caution against blindly following the numbers.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
- billpatrianakos 15y ago
  I think the whole PC thing came about as a result of White Guilt and White Priviledge. We shouldn't be watering down our holiday. We just happen to have a country dominated by white Christians and it becomes a big deal. If the majority here were Jewish I bet that Jewish celebrations would get more attention. All in all though, Christmas in the US is more of a cultural sensation nowadays rather than a religious celebration even among many Christians. It's more about trees, lights, Santa, presents, good will, etc. than Christ being born. That's another good reason to do away with Happy Holidays because if Christmas is cultural like Columbus Day or Thanksgiving then everyone is invited to participate and in fact they are. Really, the only thing linking Christmas to religion these days, at least in the US, is the "Christ" part of the name. It's become just another holiday that can be given religious significance but that's optional. Like Thanksgiving. That's a cultural celebration but many religions have tried to make it part of their religion (specifically Umitarian and some Catholic Christians) but that doesn't mean it really is a religious deal.
king_jester 15y ago
This may not necessarily be about rejecting political correctness. In the United States (article mentions the recipients of the email were from the US), Christmas is celebrated by many for other than religious reasons and is its own cultural celebration, much in the same way how many people will watch the Superbowl despite having only a passing interest in football.

inuhj 15y ago

You could use last name as a predictor and send out Happy Hanukkah emails.

billpatrianakos 15y ago
You could but shouldn't. Because Christmas is a huge cultural deal in addition to a religious celebration, saying Merry Christmas to a non Christian would be far better than saying Happy Hanukkah to someone with a Jewish sounding last name and getting it wrong.

reuven 15y ago

Not all minorities are offended by mentions of Christmas. I'm Jewish, and find the whole "Happy Holidays" thing to be bizarre and unnecessary. Christmas is a major Christian holiday. Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday. The only thing that they have in common is that they both take place at roughly the same time of year. If you're Christian, and want to celebrate Christmas, then that's great; go for it! Don't go watering down your holiday messages, or attempt to include Hanukkah in your celebrations. (Government and the public sphere is a different thing, at least in the US.) I live in Israel nowadays, where Christmas exists mostly as an item on the TV news. But I still find it amazing that anyone would be offended when someone expresses excitement and positive feelings about their own holidays. Meanwhile, I found this marketing test to be fascinating, and a great demonstration of the need to actually test, rather than just go with gut feelings.

bradleyland 15y ago
I lay no claim that all minorities will be offended, only that a minority population exists that will be offended. My personal preference is to just use the language you want. I'm of the generation that rejected the PC cultural influences developed by our aging parents. My words are merely a caution against blindly following the numbers. The impact of "Merry Christmas" vs "Happy Holidays" may be innocuous, but you will inevitably face more impactful decisions where the best conversion may come at the price of marginalizing a minority unfairly.
- anamax 15y ago
  > I lay no claim that all minorities will be offended, only that a minority population exists that will be offended. There's always someone who will be offended, no matter what you do. (Example - some folks are offended by "Happy Holidays", and the reasons are not mutually consistent.) Some minorities are worth worrying about but others aren't, and they're not the same in every situation.
  - bradleyland 15y ago
    > Some minorities are worth worrying about but others aren't, and they're not the same in every situation. That's my point exactly. A direct quote from the post you're replying to: > My words are merely a caution against blindly following the numbers.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
billpatrianakos 15y ago
I think the whole PC thing came about as a result of White Guilt and White Priviledge. We shouldn't be watering down our holiday. We just happen to have a country dominated by white Christians and it becomes a big deal. If the majority here were Jewish I bet that Jewish celebrations would get more attention. All in all though, Christmas in the US is more of a cultural sensation nowadays rather than a religious celebration even among many Christians. It's more about trees, lights, Santa, presents, good will, etc. than Christ being born. That's another good reason to do away with Happy Holidays because if Christmas is cultural like Columbus Day or Thanksgiving then everyone is invited to participate and in fact they are. Really, the only thing linking Christmas to religion these days, at least in the US, is the "Christ" part of the name. It's become just another holiday that can be given religious significance but that's optional. Like Thanksgiving. That's a cultural celebration but many religions have tried to make it part of their religion (specifically Umitarian and some Catholic Christians) but that doesn't mean it really is a religious deal.

king_jester 15y ago

This may not necessarily be about rejecting political correctness. In the United States (article mentions the recipients of the email were from the US), Christmas is celebrated by many for other than religious reasons and is its own cultural celebration, much in the same way how many people will watch the Superbowl despite having only a passing interest in football.