If I walked up to you and wished you a "Merry Christmas" what would you do/say?

I’d give you a hug and wish you a Merry Christmas in return. That is… if I recognized you, LOL. If I didn’t know you, I’d just cheerfully tell you Merry Christmas and wave. =0)

I’d give you a big smile and say “Merry Christmas to you too!”.

I’d wish you “Merry Christmas” right back without thinking twice. Then I’d grin and probably get even more giddy with holiday cheer than I already am, because I’m just a silly goofball this time of year.

Wish you a happy holiday.\ right back.

I’d say, “Thanks and Happy Holidays to you. I don’t know how I got here, but it’s great being back in the province of my birth!”.

I’d return the greeting with a smile & a wink ;-) Merry Christmas to you too…..
That reminds me, I must right out my cards! :-/

Canada.

“Merry Christmas to you too.”

I’d clock you, shouting, “How dare you insult me in public! Can’t you tell I’m an atheist! You Christians think you rule the fucking world, but you don’t! You’ll see! We’ll get your Jesus one day and string him up! Better yet—nail him to a cross! That’ll show you! We atheists can be every bit as violent and nasty as you Christians.”

Yep. That’s what I’d do!~

Merry Christmas! Seasons Greetings! Happy Holidays! Good will towards all!

Gesundheit!

I’d probably say, “Merry Christmas” and smile at you.
I’m generally both polite and friendly, in person.

“I am a banana!”

I’d say Merry Christmas.

I’d drop you in your tracks—nobody calls me Mary twice.

I’d say Merry Christmas back.

I actually went out on a limb today and said Merry Christmas to the cashier in Macy’s. She was an older African American woman and I know the cashiers in stores like Macy’s are all working so hard this time of year. I figured I’d say it and take my chances. She seemed very happy and said “Thank you. Merry Christmas to you, too!”

@ratboy Mary, Mary, why ya buggin’?

Since you know me, I’d say I don’t celebrate Christmas, throw a present in your face and say Happy Giftmas.

@tinyfaery Throw, huh?

Well, you know I don’t do Christmas, so if you said that I’d assume you were being antagonistic.

I’d say “Merry Christmas!” I’m betting that’s not all that’s heard in all of Ontario, though!

@dappled_leaves Probably not. Just haven’t heard it ‘round here.

I’ve heard both of of them, so it’s nothing different.

I’d probably reciprocate the phrase back to you with silenced awkwardness.

I’m a “Happy Holidays” person and have been for some time now. Many of my friends don’t celebrate until the New Year (such as Chinese New Year, for example) so we don’t exchange gifts or anything. It sounds better to me too—you almost have to smile to say “happy” and “holiday” has a rich, round sound (though Christmas is certainly fun to say too because it has a crispiness to it.) I guess I’m just not a fan of the word “merry”. Happy has a cheerier ring. Plus, “happy holidays” has alliteration in its favour.

In short, I’m an English major. I side with aesthetics.

I’d say “Happy Holidays to you”.

Where I work, most customers wish us season’s greetings, and happy holidays along with “Have a nice Christmas”. I’m ok with whatever people say because I assume it’s coming from a good place. I don’t need to pick it apart further.

“Thanks, you too!”

“Why don’t you go fuck yourself, you weird little prick?”

Since I celebrate Christmas, I’d say the same to you. If I didn’t celebrate Christmas, I’d probably say “Thanks, but I’m Jewish/Muslim/atheist/etc. Hope you have a Merry Christmas, though!”

I would wish you one right back. I would also do the same if you wished me a Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, or Festivus.

They are just words and it is called being polite. If this is impossible for you perhaps you might seek some sound, scientific, psychiatric care and delve in to what your real issues are.

@tinyfaery What if you were out shopping and the sales clerk said Merry Christmas to you?

@Mariah and I could do a duet. “You, too!”

I would say Merry Christmas!

I would say, Thanks! Merry Christmas to you too!

I’d warmly wish them a “Merry Christmas” back. It’s nice when anyone says anything nice, or does something nice out of the blue these days. We should always welcome niceness, since there’s so little of it around in today’s world.

I remember when I was a youth working at the mall, I said “Merry Christmas” to a Muslim guy by accident, and he snapped “We don’t celebrate Christmas, so please don’t tell me that! We are Muslim!” I was confounded by his angry reaction, being the naive teenager I was at the time. :(

“Thanks. You, too.”

I’d say, ” Right back at’cha toots. And hey…nice cans”.

I would say Merry Christmas back to you.

My response is always, “why thank you and the same to you”. :-)

Thanks. You too. I’m not rude to random strangers. I’m actually very polite.

I’d say Happy Halloween. I have done it a few times before, as well as on New Year’s. But it comes from the heart, so the people usually laugh, some look at you funny, but no harm is done, and that’s what Christmas is all about.

Nice- after you decorate your Christmas pumpkin, you can go trick-or-treating for presents. ;-p

Some day, I will make my own Christmas tree, but with a skull on top, entail like tinsels, and a buncha bats hanging everywhere.

I’d say merry christmas back. I constantly hear that it is politically correct to say “happy holidays” rather than “merry christmas” but in practise I only really hear the latter regardless of the ethnic background/religion of the person saying it. I keep hearing of all these people that are offended by “merry christmas” but have yet to meet one. However, if I know that a person is unlikely to celebrate Christmas due to them being atheist or of another religion then I will wait until they wish me a merry christmas before I say it back just in case.

I was at Walmart last night, and the cashier wished me a merry Christmas. I was actually a little startled, because most retail places don’t do that anymore (around here, anyway). Of course, I said “Thanks, you too.” But when I was driving away, it made me wonder… what if the cashier is Jewish or Muslim? Are they required to say merry Christmas? And I wondered how they’d feel about that. It was an interesting mind exercise.

@augustlan : I don’t know, of course, but I think it was probably one of two things: either s/he just slipped and used a default MC when s/he was supposed to say “Happy Holidays”, or s/he assumed a specific type, based on your red hair and fair skin. I’m guessing probably the former. All the years I was in customer service jobs it was “Happy Holidays” all the way. If we goofed and said “Merry Christmas” and got caught, we were reprimanded.

@JilltheTooth It looks like Walmart is on the “nice” list (Christmas-friendly, in other words), according to this list, so I think it’s company policy to say “merry Christmas”.

Well, that’s odd! I didn’t even know such a thing existed! I need to get out more…

Fun fact: Ashkenazi Jews are up there in having high percentages of redheads. My dad had undertones of red, although I would consider him to have brown hair, although his body hair was red; his sister was reddish hair as well.

This is from wikipedia on the topic: Red hair is also fairly common amongst the Ashkenazi Jewish populations, possibly because of the influx of European DNA over a period of centuries, or in the original founding of their communities in Europe,[14] although both Esau and David are described in the Bible as red-haired. In European culture, prior to the 20th century, red hair was often seen as a stereotypically Jewish trait: during the Spanish Inquisition, all those with red hair were identified as Jewish.[15] In Italy, red hair was associated with Italian Jews, and Judas was traditionally depicted as red-haired in Italian and Spanish art.[16] Writers from Shakespeare to Dickens would identify Jewish characters by giving them red hair.[17] The stereotype that red hair is Jewish remains in parts of Eastern Europe and Russia.[18]

Source

Although of course redheads are found more among the Irish and Polish.

@JLeslie Aaah! You’re a mountain of information. Love it!

“Don’t tase me bro!”

Frohe Weihnachten!

If you were a stranger? Gee. I’d say Merry Christmas to you, too…and wait to see what comes next. lol