The poll says ... Merry Christmas! (69% use greeting - Gallup Poll)

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http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/1221Xmas-Greeting-ON.html

The poll says ... Merry Christmas!

If you think greetings such as "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" are poor substitutes for "Merry Christmas," you've got company.

A USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday finds that 69 percent of adults surveyed say "Merry Christmas" is the greeting they most likely would use this time of year when first meeting someone. That's up from 56 percent in 2004. Only 29 percent would opt for "Happy Holidays," down from 41 percent in 2004.

The "Merry Christmas" preference appears to cross religious boundaries, including non-Christians and respondents who say they have no religious affiliations.

Perhaps that's no surprise, given well-publicized concerns that references to Christmas are being diluted in American society, from town celebrations to shopping malls. Fresh debate was prompted by the holiday greeting card sent by President Bush "with no explicit reference to this as the holy time of Christmas," noted Janet Davis, head of American studies at the University of Texas-Austin.