Sometimes its not “Merry Christmas”

At the grocery store where I do most of my shopping I have a favorite check-out woman. I don’t know her name, but she’s Muslim so I just scan the row of clerks for her headscarf to see if she’s working when I’m picking up groceries. I don’t know why she hasn’t been promoted. She’s hands-down the best clerk they have but I’ve barely ever heard her speak so maybe she’s very shy. In any event, one day I’ll go in and she’ll be off to bigger and better (and higher-paying things) and good for her.

The other day I was  in and I just had a few things so I went through self-checkout and saw her as I was walking back down the aisle. A man was in her row and he said, “Merry Christmas.”

Now, I know a lot of people have very strong feelings about whether to say “Merry Christmas” “Happy Holidays” or to refer to another specific holiday at this or another time of year but I think we can all agree that manners should not collectively fail us in late December, nor is there reason to be rude, nor would one wish to seem intentionally ignorant.

The man caught himself quickly and decided the best way to cover his lapse would be to say, “Whatever,” in a loud and dismissive tone. I seethed but it is not my place to come to a grown woman’s rescue and I am not the manners police so I just kept walking.

But I would caution the rest of us to rise above the guy in the grocery store and remember that at this time of year indeed not everyone you meet is a Christian, and not all Christians, even devote ones, celebrate Christmas, and really? Unless you know for sure, “Happy Holidays” gets the job done if you’re going to say anything at all.