One of our friends, has given the following suggestion for those who want to avoid such greetings, while remaining polite and friendly: Assalaam Alaykum, As the Christmas holidays are soon approaching (it's only a few short months away) I have a suggestion. Rather than saying "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays", why not say "Season's Greetings" instead. The advantage of this is that it can be interpreted by the greeted in what ever way the greeted person would like. Whether they are Christian or not, this particular time of year has many celebrations in it, so wishing a person with something fairly neutral like "Season's Greetings" seems most appropriate. Salaam,