Greetings and salutations!

"Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for all calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make your country great. Not to imply that your country is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only one in the Western Hemisphere. And without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee. By accepting these greetings you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself or himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher."

In other words "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year "

Don't even get me started on this recent holiday related insanity; remember also that tolerate does not mean support or condone, but respect. On the other hand, it really doesn't matter what the terminology is in the end. Merry Christmas represents the traditional "Christian" holiday, but even Happy Holidays works as 'holiday' comes from the term 'holy day'. In the final irony, as X was a Greek symbol sometimes used as a reference to the Kristos (Christ), XMas loses none of its meaning; so have a field day with that one folks!

I do hope that, whatever your ideological/religious/spiritual/philosophical/ethnic persuasion, that everyone enjoys the holiday season and reflects on its themes of love, selflessness, thankfulness, friends and family. These are qualities that should be extended to all the world and not just on sanctioned occasions. A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

With Hope,
Joseph