Gotta admit, as an agnostic who was raised gently Christian, that’s part of the reason I’m still comfortable putting all this stuff up in our house. Took a while to figure out a tree topper I liked but one year a saw a dove and that feels less religious to me.
I get that it's a joke, but "happy holidays" isn't a secular alternative to "merry christmas", as the word "holidays" is literally the words "holy" + "day".
I'm just going to come out and say it. Have your Christmas. Nobody else gives a shit about you or what you believe. So celebrate, enjoy. Nobody cares if you do. You don't have to prove anything to anyone about it, and we wouldn't notice if you tried.
So Merry Christmas, happy Festivus, happy holidays, happy Hanukkah.... Whatever you celebrate at this time of year, I hope it's a positive experience and that you and your loved ones enter into the new year as happy and as healthy as they can be.
But don't mistake that sentiment for giving any shits about what you do to celebrate.