Warning: Although it does concern business, this post hasabsolutely nothing to do with insurance, at least not directly.Instead, it deals with the ongoing battle of words, and theideologies behind them, surrounding what should be a no-brainer:wishing people a pleasant holiday season.

We're living in an era where every custom is under microscopicscrutiny by some special interest group—witness the ongoing debateabout the naming of sports teams, for instance. So I guess itshouldn't come as a surprise when TV pundits get their undies in abundle over the racial composition of Santa Claus. (Next up: “In Search of theHistoric Easter Bunny: Albino or Not?”)

In light of the ongoing media flap over the “waron Christmas,” the PublicReligion Research Institute today released a poll on howAmericans feel about saying “Merry Christmas” versus “happyholidays.”

The poll revealed that 49% of Americans think stores andbusinesses should greet their customers with “happy holidays” or“season's greetings” instead of “Merry Christmas,” out of respectfor people of different faiths. This is a slight increase over the44% who thought so in 2010.

That's nice, you might say—well, depending on who you are.Because another 43% vehemently opposes this practice.

The study further breaks down responses by religion, politicalaffiliation, and age:

• 62% of evangelical Protestants, 46% of mainline Protestants,and 44% of Catholics prefer the greeting “merry Christmas”
• 61% of Republicans prefer “merry Christmas” while 58% ofDemocrats say the opposite
• 66% of Americans age 18 to 29 support stores and businessesusing a non-religious greeting, while only 39% of Americans aged 65and older agree.

So far, most of this seems pretty predictable. Where it getsinteresting is when respondents reveal exactly how they celebratethe season:

• 84% celebrate Christmas and no other holiday
• 6% celebrate Christmas plus another holiday, such as Hanukkah,Kwanzaa, or winter solstice
• 6% celebrate some other holiday (Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or solstice)instead of Christmas
• 5% celebrate no holidays in December.

And most Americans who celebrate Christmas do so in a religiousway: 59% attend religious services on Christmas Eve or ChristmasDay. Nearly half of the respondents (49%) believe in the story ofChristmas—virgin birth, star of Bethlehem, wise men and all.

So in spite of the fact that most Americans celebrate Christmas,49% still prefer that you call it something more inclusive.

Like it or not, we're living in a more culturally diverse worldthan good old George Bailey. As insurance agents, you can recognizethat simply by the makeup of your customer base, or among the youngpeople you're trying to recruit.

So although the words may not be the same, from the looks ofthis study, the spirit is. I thought the coolest finding was thatnearly 8 in 10 (77%) of Americans celebrating Christmas give to acharity or volunteer their time to help the needy as part of theircelebration. And isn't that the bottom line in what's supposed tobe a season of love?

Because in spite of thousands of years of different overlaidreligious customs, the winter holiday season (there, I said it) hasits roots deep in the solstice—that single longest, darkest night of the year whenancient man never thought he'd see the sun again. This festival oflight we celebrate today as Christmas began as nothing but a leapof faith—the very human hope that no matter how long and dark thenight, light would follow.

So in that spirit—I wish you a happy holiday, season'sgreetings, a joyous Christmas, and…

“Happy winter solstice, you old Building and Loan!”