I remember that era well. I was living in New York City, my partner was Jewish, we were both atheists, and we had friends of many faith traditions. We threw a huge holiday party every year for friends and loved ones. I always put up a Christmas tree and lots of other decorations, including Hanukkah symbols.

When I was out and about on my holiday errands, I was careful to say happy holidays to strangers and not Merry Christmas. Because I lived in New York City and I knew that the odds were good that the person I was greeting was not a Christian and did not celebrate Christmas. Saying happy holidays was a way to be inclusive and friendly. That’s the kind of thing you do when you live in a diverse, multicultural environment like New York.

And then I started hearing people complaining that what I was doing was part of a “war on Christmas.” I thought that was absurd, and I figured people would realize the absurdity of it. But nope. It just kept picking up steam.

Yet you look around at the omnipresence of Christmas and you have to ask yourself, “What in the world are you people going on about?”

Can people who think there’s really a war on Christmas please get a life?