I'm willing to bet this is because "Merry Christmas" sounds more personal. Your friend would say that to you, and it just feels more sincere. "Happy Holidays" s

I'm willing to bet this is because "Merry Christmas" sounds more personal. Your friend would say that to you, and it just feels more sincere. "Happy Holidays" sounds like PC jargon and robotic, customer ass kissing. If we just leave out for a moment the fact that not all people celebrate Christmas this makes sense. I honestly think that Christmas is more of a cultural thing here in the US than a purely religious celebration. We have a majority of people who celebrate Christmas as part of their religion but even of those people a majority of them are focused more on the cultural sensation that is Christmas rather than the religious aspects even though they're Christian. The lights, the colors, Santa, presents, and the general mood of the holiday is what really makes Christmas in America, not the actual birth of Christ. That's why even people who aren't Christian or religious at all can get into it. They're surrounded by it and it's just a part of life here. In countries where the "Christmas Spirit" isn't as prevalent in the culture with populations that are split between Christian and non-Christians more evenly I think Happy Holidays would sound more sincere and not exclusionary. Over here if you say "Happy Holidays" its like saying "I would say Merry Christmas but I'm going to be extra PC and say Happy Holidays just in case you're a Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, or other unspecified form of pagan, heathen, or otherwise non-Christian, non Christ believing individual". A little exaggerated, yes, but Happy Holidays really does sound like this to many and that's part of the reason that the conservative party over here makes a big deal over "the war on Christmas" every year with the "Merry Christmas vs Happy Holidays" debate being very close to the center of it each time. I know I said a lot, and my theory is based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence but I really think it makes a lot of sense. Try it on and see if you like it. Maybe I'm wrong.