Now that Christmas Day has come and gone, and the New Year will be celebrated in just six days, the “Happy Holidays” greeting can be shelved until December 2011. Of all the events listed on the calendar, Happy Holidays is the only greeting that leaves you wondering which ones you are to enjoy.

At times, there are four holidays to choose from, and the number could rise to five should those of the Islamic faith find something that requires special consideration sometime around Dec. 25.

One of the competitors is the Jewish holiday Hanukkah, which admittedly was once considered a minor holiday whose major observance seemed to occur in Hebrew schools. Children were told the story of a group that opposed Greek-Syrian oppressors by holing up in a Jerusalem temple. They discovered they had just a day’s supply of olive oil to keep menorah candles lit, but the supply miraculously lasted eight days.

Being a little-known holiday, Hanukkah was considered a victim of the dominance of the Christmas season. This led to friction that produced the politically correct resolution of the problem by promoting the use of Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas.

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