Here’s When to Say ‘Happy Holidays’ Instead of ‘Merry Christmas’

It’s that time of year… when you dread every interaction because you don’t know whether to say “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Holidays,” “Season’s Greetings,” or maybe some secret salutation you don’t even know yet. So what are you supposed to say?

In general, “Happy Holidays” is accepted as the broadest and most inclusive greeting at this time of year. If you know someone celebrates Christmas you can go with “Merry Christmas,” but ‘tis the season for interacting with strangers (selling to them, buying from them, bumping into them on your way out of Target). And when the time comes to wish them well, it’s usually best to go for general.

Why does the “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas” debate exist?

The period from late November until early January is lumped together as “the holiday season.” You’ve got your biggies like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s, plus dates that get not quite so much attention, like Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, Boxing Day, and Festivus. With that many holidays crammed into a few weeks, it makes sense to go for the general holiday wish.

True, there aren’t too many people who celebrate all of those holidays. But the point is to acknowledge that different people celebrate different holidays

Also, this debate isn’t just about words: it’s about being politically correct and inclusive of diverse beliefs and traditions across the country.

“Holidays” are more inclusive

Although Christmas has been the most widely celebrated holiday in the United States for decades, the U.S. is more diverse than it’s ever been before, so not everyone celebrates Christmas. Some people get a Christmas tree, but don’t have any traditions associated with Christianity. And plenty of people have a different religious tradition, or no religious tradition at all.

If you say “Merry Christmas” to someone who celebrates Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or nothing at all, you could make them feel marginalized: like their own beliefs aren’t valued or respected by society. And that’s not a good way to feel around the holidays.

What about saying “Happy Holidays” to someone who celebrates Christmas—won’t that make them feel bad, too? Unfortunately, there’s a chance of that, especially because Christmas is still so widely celebrated. But one holiday being more popular than the others doesn’t mean you should ignore the other ones.

Think of it this way: “Happy Holidays” includes Christmas as one of those holidays, and “Merry Christmas” leaves out everything other than Christmas.

If you live in an area with mostly Christians, or if you know someone has a Menorah and not a Christmas tree, you can generally feel safe with a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hanukkah.” But if you don’t know, or aren’t quite sure, it’s probably best to stay general rather than taking a guess and potentially making someone feel bad.

So, “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas”?

A good rule of thumb: if you don’t know what someone celebrates, use the broader term. It’s as easy as that.

It’s not an insult to Christmas. It’s an inclusive way of wishing someone well and showing that you respect and value whatever tradition they observe. Actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg agrees:

″‘Happy Holidays’ allows everybody to be included…When you’re walking past somebody, you don’t know what their religious beliefs are or whether they have them. If they have religious beliefs and you can’t tell what they are, say ’Happy holidays.”

If Whoopi says so, there’s got to be something to it.

In a time of year that’s already hectic, wondering what to wish people can be yet another stress. But don’t forget that even with all the errands, tasks, and projects that need to be finished up by the end of the year, this is also a season that’s supposed to be happy or merry. You’re wishing someone a positive time of year. What matters most is the sentiment, not the specific holiday they celebrate.

Sure, there’s the occasional stickler who demands specificity—“What holidays do you mean?” Still, most people will see your attempt at sharing seasonal cheer and shoot you a smile, rather than insisting you clarify exactly which holiday you have in mind. Even if you celebrate one holiday and the person you’re talking to observes another one, by using the inclusive term, you’re doing your part to make sure everyone’s holiday actually is as happy as it can be.

8 Professions That Write More Than You Think

“How will I need this in the real world?” high school students often ask. Everyone knows that journalists and authors write for a living. But are effective writing skills necessary for other careers? You will be surprised; some professions use writing more than you think!

Sales and Marketing

Writing can influence people to try a new product or remain loyal to a brand. Effective sales copy should be concise, credible, and relevant to the customer. Sales associates often rely on emails to answer client’s questions about the service or product they are selling. When they do, they must strike the right balance between persuasion and coercion to make the customer want to buy. Persuasive writing is also an essential component of marketing. It’s no coincidence that the jingles featured in television and radio get stuck in your mind. Marketing executives have to determine who will use products to produce compelling advertisements in order. Then, they carefully craft sales copy, ads, and jingles to appeal to their target audience.

Human Resources

One of the primary functions of the human resources department is to fill open positions. The job description is a crucial element in attracting suitable applicants. HR has to represent the goals and working environment of the company accurately, or disillusioned employees might quit soon after they’re hired. Second, the job description has to identify job tasks so that applicants know whether they qualify or not. Finally, HR usually documents the results of interviews for consideration in the hiring process.

Health Care

Every day, doctors give written instructions to patients about diet, exercise, or medication. Needless to say, directions should be unambiguous because health care writing can be a life or death matter. For example, emergency room patients are often disoriented, medicated, or in pain. What a worthy challenge it is for busy doctors to write simple, understandable discharge instructions in such an environment! Physicians also share information with each other and the public. They use SOAP notes to document notes on a patient’s chart. SOAP is an acronym that stands for the four parts of the message—subjective, objective, assessment, and plan. Doctors might publish the findings of a case study or research project in a medical journal. To do so successfully, they will have to support their research with in-text citations and references using one of the style guides recognized by medical institutions, such as the American Psychological Association (APA).

Customer Service

What’s the difference between a disgruntled and a satisfied customer? For customer service representatives, it may be how well they handle and email or chat exchange. Customer support technicians have to ask probing questions to find out what the issue is. They have to show empathy while offering practical advice. You may notice that some reps used “canned” responses in live chat. They must be experts at answering quickly and juggling multiple clients at the same time! For simple issues, they might cut-and-paste a response, perhaps tweaking it a little to adjust for the specific details of your case.

Education

Students aren’t the only ones doing homework. Educators write lesson plans each week, describing the objectives of the class, the activities, and the expected outcomes. Many of them write their assessments, such as worksheets, quizzes, and tests. At the university level, professors frequently publish research studies, essays, or other writing in academic journals. Don’t forget that teachers are learners too. Professional development is mandatory, and it frequently involves a writing requirement, especially if it is graduate-level study.

Law Enforcement

After catching the bad guys, police officers generate written reports that become a part of the case record. They must be meticulous, ensuring that all the documented facts are accurate. A police report may become evidence in a trial or the basis of a news report. If the report is faulty, a perpetrator could escape justice. Similarly, forensic science technicians are also responsible for reporting evidence in written reports. The record may include a conclusion of how a victim died based on their analyses. Criminologists are sociologists who study the causes, effects, and social impact of criminal behavior. With a goal of predicting and discouraging crime, they analyze data and present it in proposals which may be used to develop laws and policies.

Construction

Construction bids are proposals from contractors or companies for a particular job. Because the contractors are competing against each other, they attempt to sell themselves as the most qualified builder at the best budget. They estimate the timeframe and budget based on drawings and specifications provided by the project’s coordinator. A successful proposal results in a job, but contractors must use sound judgment. If the final expenses significantly exceed the budget, the contractor damages his reputation and risks legal charges if managers suspect him of intentionally underestimating the cost of materials or the time necessary to complete the project.

Social Work

When applying for social services or funding on behalf of a client, social workers must justify their recommendations with notes from observations and relevant research. Thus, case notes and reports from the field influence weighty decisions, such as whether a family qualifies to adopt a child. Social work students begin honing writing skills before they enter the profession. They write term papers explaining an issue and often support their opinions using published research. Literature reviews summarize, classify, and evaluate theories and published research available about a topic.

The next time a high school student asks whether writing matters in the real world, ask what career she wants to pursue. From law enforcement officer to customer service rep, most professions will require effective writing skills.

How do you use writing in your occupation? Let us know in the comments section of this post.

Active vs. Passive Voice—What Are They and How Do I Use Them?

Active voice means that a sentence has a subject that acts upon its verb. Passive voice means that a subject is a recipient of a verb’s action. You may have learned that the passive voice is weak and incorrect, but it isn’t that simple. When used correctly and in moderation, the passive voice is fine.

In English grammar, verbs have five properties: voice, mood, tense, person, and number; here, we are concerned with voice. The two grammatical voices are active and passive.

What is Active Voice?

When the subject of a sentence performs the verb’s action, we say that the sentence is in the active voice. Sentences in the active voice have a strong, direct, and clear tone. Here are some short and straightforward examples of active voice.

Monkeys adore bananas.

The cashier counted the money.

The dog chased the squirrel.

All three sentences have a basic active voice construction: subject, verb, and object. The subject monkey performs the action described by adore. The subject the cashier performs the action described by counted. The subject the dog performs the action described by chased. The subjects are doing, doing, doing—they take action in their sentences. The active voice reminds us of the mega-popular Nike slogan, “Just Do It.”

What is Passive Voice?

A sentence is in the passive voice, on the other hand, when the subject is acted on by the verb. The passive voice is always constructed with a conjugated form of to be plus the verb’s past participle. Doing this usually generates a preposition as well. That sounds much more complicated than it is, because passivity is actually quite easy to detect. For these next examples of passive voice, we will transform the three active sentences above to illustrate the difference.

Bananas are adored by monkeys.

The money was counted by the cashier.

The squirrel was chased by the dog.

Let’s take a closer look at the first pair of sentences, “Monkeys adore bananas” and “Bananas are adored by monkeys.” The active sentence consists of monkeys (subject) + adore (verb) + bananas (object). The passive sentence consists of bananas (object) + are adored (a form of to be plus the past participle adored) + by (preposition) + monkeys (subject). Making the sentence passive flipped the structure and necessitated the preposition by. In fact, all three of the transformed sentences above required the addition of by.

Active Voice vs. Passive Voice—Which Is Better?

There is no question that using the active voice conveys a strong, clear tone and that the passive voice is subtler and weaker. Here’s some good advice: don’t use the passive voice just because you think it sounds a bit fancier than the active voice.

That said, there are times the passive voice is useful and called for. Take “The squirrel was chased by the dog,” for example. That sentence construction would be helpful if the squirrel were the focus of your writing and not the dog.

A good rule of thumb is to try to put the majority of your sentences in the active voice. This is especially true in business.

How to Change a Sentence in Passive Voice to Active Voice

Here is an example of a business communication that could be strengthened by abandoning the passive voice.

An error has occurred with your account, but every attempt was made to remedy it.

That sentence is not incorrect, but it does sound a bit stiff and dishonest. It sounds less trustworthy than it could—almost evasive. Who wants to do business with a company that avoids taking full responsibility by slipping into formal passive voice territory? Face the responsibility head on instead. Own it.

We made an error with your account, but we have made every attempt to remedy it.

To make that sentence active rather than passive, I identified the subject: we. It was “our company” that was responsible.

If there are any questions, I can be reached at the number below.

The structure of this sentence is weak because it doesn’t identify the subjects in either clause. Let’s unveil them. Who might have questions to ask? The person being addressed: you. Who will be doing the reaching (by calling the number below)? It is still the communication’s recipient.

If you have any questions, call me at the number below.

Here’s a tip: What to remember: to change a sentence from passive voice into active voice, identify the subject.

How to Use “Former” vs. “Latter”

The terms former and latter are words used to distinguish between two things. Former directs us to the first of these two things, and latter directs us to the second (or last) of them. Do not use former or latter when you are writing about more than two things.

Former and latter are words that sound old-fashioned to some people, and indeed they are very old words.

According to the Online Etymological Dictionary, former derives from the Old English word forma, meaning “first.” By the 12th century, former was used to mean “first, earliest in time or order,” and by the 1580s, it arrived at its present meaning, “the first of two.”Latter has a similar history. In Old English, lætra was the comparative form of “late” and latter had arrived at its present meaning of “the second of two” by the 1550s. It is a relative of our modern word later.

”Former” vs. “Latter”: Remembering Which Is Which Couldn’t Be Easier

When using former and latter to distinguish between two things, remember “F for first, L for last.”

The Simpsons and Game of Thrones are both great shows, but I prefer the former.

This writer is a fan of The Simpsons, which is the first show mentioned.

She thinks polar bears and hamsters are both cute, but I could only recommend the latter as a pet.

This writer holds a belief that hamsters, the last animal mentioned, is the better of the two companions for a human.

Keep in mind that it isn’t a good idea to overuse former and latter in any one piece of writing. Readers tend to be confused by this because it essentially asks the reader to glance back at the two items to reference which item was listed first and which was last. If you ask your readers to perform too many mental maneuvers, they tend to lose interest quickly. However, in academic writing it can be very useful. Naturally, because these terms refer to items in a list, never use them in spoken language, because there is nothing for the listener to go back and refer to—they are just words in the wind.

Never Use “Former” and “Latter” with Lists of More Than Two

Here’s a tip: The principal caveat about using former and latter is this: these are words that can only be applied to two things, never three (or more).

My hobbies are singing, playing the piano, and dancing, but the former is my true passion.

My hobbies are singing, playing the piano, and dancing, but the first is my true passion.

What Is the Difference Between Acknowledgement and Acknowledgment?

This post acknowledges the pesky spelling of acknowledg(e)ment. If the verb ends in -e, where does that letter go when you add the -ment?

For the most part, folks in the United States or Canada will ditch the E, while people outside North America tend to keep it. But that’s far from a hard-and-fast rule, so chances are you’ll see both spellings regardless of where you’re reading.

If you want to stick to general geographical standards, think of it this way: the British like to use extra letters. Think canceled vs. cancelled, or favorite vs. favourite, for instance—Americans prefer the former in both instances. While “judgment” is a closer parallel to our friend “acknowledgment,” more sources agree that “judgement” with a middle E is just plain incorrect. With “acknowledgment” and “acknowledgement,” on the other hand, you’ll see a lot more of both.

Now that we’ve given acknowledgment to geography, let’s take a peek at some of the most common usages of the word, with examples of both spellings.

1 The act of acknowledging; admission; avowal; owning; confession.

Owning up to making a mistake:

The coach was not comforted by the referee’s acknowledgment that he had incorrectly given the star player a red card.

Confession of something formerly secret:

May 2, 1939, “marked the beginning of Gehrig’s very public acknowledgement of ALS, the disease which would come to bear his name.” (NBC Sports)

Admitting to improper behavior:

“The kingdom awaits the U.S. Government’s acknowledgment of error.” (The National Interest)

2 The act of recognizing the existence, authority, truth, or genuineness of a fact, point, or characteristic.

Recognition of a valid point:

The financial analysts interpreted the warning about high spending “as an acknowledgment of their claim that taxes must rise.” (The Australian)

Attention to a topic:

“Public acknowledgement of and commitment to diversification strikes a new tone, and suggests recognition of a new reality.” (Foreign Policy)

3 An award or other expression or token of appreciation.

Award:

“Each honoree receives a crystal paperweight commemorating the award and $3,345 as an acknowledgment of their superior leadership abilities, scholarship and appreciation of basic American values.” (The Purdue Exponent)

Symbol of appreciation:

Young students often give their teachers an apple as an acknowledgment of their teaching.

4 An expression of gratitude or respect.

Expression of gratitude:

“He gave from his heart. . . . He did not want a lot of acknowledgement.” (Raw Story)

Recognition, appreciation:

“What . . . came to pass on Wednesday night was a sober acknowledgement of Bowie’s talent and contribution to the music industry.” (WWD)

A thanks to people who helped an author over the course of writing a book:

“Mr Khanna lists over 400 people in a nine-page acknowledgments section.” (The Economist)

5 A confirmation that something has been received.

“Goodwill, favor and payback may result from courteous acknowledgement letters.” (Write Express)

“Question: Invitation acknowledgment. Answer: RSVP.” (Crosswords Online)

Those are the most common uses of the word, but it can also show up in legal or computing contexts. See a full list of definitions and synonyms here.

If you’ve read this far, consider this the acknowledgment that you have finished the article.

Written by Alice E.M. Underwood

How Language Represents Color

Every language represents colors with different words. Linguists have found some interesting patterns in how colors are represented in language. Let’s look at some of their most intriguing findings.

Predictable Sets of Colors

All languages distinguish colors. However, some languages represent colors in only two basic groups. Linguists found that all languages that have only two color distinctions base them on black (or dark) and white (or light). If a language has a third color family, it is almost always based on red. Languages with four color groups label either yellow or green as the fourth. Next come blue, brown, and so on. Interestingly, how languages identify color doesn’t seem to be random. There’s no language that only recognizes orange and pink, for example. English is a language with one of the largest numbers of basic colors. It has eleven. Can you name them all?

Once a Color, Always a Color

Brent Berlin and Paul Kay are anthropological linguists, which means they study the relationship between language, culture, and biology. Their research suggested that languages don’t lose color distinctions once they are made. For example, if a language has distinguished pink from red, it won’t ever go back to grouping them as the same color. Why is this notable? Well, other words are much more likely to come and go or change meaning over time. Snoutfair is extinct already, and many people think whom is in danger of falling completely out of fashion. Colors, on the other hand, hold remarkably steady. That is, until some recent research shook the hypothesis a bit!

New Theories about Color Words

Linguistics professor Claire Bowern and her colleague, Hannah Haynie, studied the evolution of some Australian languages. They found that Australian languages have “lost color terms, as well as gained them.” Perhaps color words aren’t as unchangeable as previously thought! They also found that Australian languages, like many other languages, base language words on the environment. For example, the Yandruwandha word for black is related to a word for ashes.

Would you like to learn more about colors and language? For example, why are there two spellings—gray and grey—for one color? The answer may surprise you!