The debate of whether to use the greeting, “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” has been a subconscious, ongoing burden in the the minds of people during Christmas time.

People sometimes struggle with how to greet someone without knowing what holiday they celebrate in the winter season and have to decide whether to use their own comforting religious holiday greeting or the politically correct response.

Libby McLaughlin, a Sophomore, seems to think that there is not much of an issue, “I think it is important to be conscious of the holidays others celebrate and greet them accordingly, not for political correctness or anything, but it shows you care about them as an individual.”

Luckily, in Sandpoint almost everyone greets each other with “Merry Christmas” and it is respected and not too verbally disputed.

“If somebody greets you in a way that doesn’t correspond to what you celebrate, I think it is a bit ridiculous to be offended, after all, it is just a friendly mistake.” McLaughlin said. “I just appreciate people saying something festive to me to begin with.”

Some simply adjust their greeting according to the views of the person who they are speaking to in order to appreciate the uniqueness of different cultures and the individuality the person.

So the questions one must ask are, ‘is there really a reason to be offended when someone is simply extending a friendly greeting?’ and ‘does there really need to be a big issue if the type of greeting one uses won’t affect the Christmas season?’