Merry Christmas!" George Bailey calls out to a passerby, thankful a benevolent angel has shown him how miserable life would be for those he loved if he was never born. Rounding the street-corner and calling out more festive greetings to inanimate objects, the political correctness zealots descend on George, demanding that he change his tone, lest he offend someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas.

This isn't how Frank Capra's Christmas classic, It's a wonderful life ends, but the way some people are talking, it could. Media watchdogs have come down on the nomenclature of the holiday season as of late, insisting a more non-denominational term than "Christmas Holidays" be used. Even in residence at the University of Calgary, employees (Community Assistants, Residence Life Coordinators and so on) are forbidden from using denominational holiday greetings. Perhaps the PC crowd would be happy with "non-denominational Decemberish holiday type thing." Come to think of it, that's not half bad.

Canada prides itself as a mosaic of cultures, but the fact is that a vast majority of people who live here do indeed celebrate Christmas be they Christians or not. No Canadian would suggest that a Christian holiday take precedence over any other, but Christmas has become so non-secular that forcibly altering the cultural vernacular is a useless exercise no one is going to care about.

For most Canadians, Christmas isn't a religious holiday--it's just the best excuse to go to the mall. Like it or not, the biggest purveyor of Christmas as we know it is Coca Cola. The real St. Nick would probably be doing cartwheels in his grave if he saw the bloated old man used to represent him and sell carbonated beverages.

If the PC's want to get upset about calling a break that falls around Christmas time "Christmas Holidays," that's fine, it's their right to do so. However, no one should be surprised if the fruits of their efforts are just as ridiculous as the misplaced zeal that created them.

Happy Non-Denominational Decemberish Holiday type thing. Have a good break.