Sandy's Stuff for Women

I own a woman's clothing and accessories store in Toledo, OH. We have 3300 sq. ft. of both new and resale items. We specialize in maternity items (the largest selection in the area) and women's size clothing (the largest selection in a resale shop in the area. RESALE ROCKS!

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Oh, great - now saying "Happy New Year" has rules!

Almost all the time, I believe in being politically correct. If a word or phrase offends someone, then it shouldn't be used. But give me a break - I just read in today's paper that saying "Happy New Year" is limited to the first few nanoseconds after midnight on New Year's Eve (okay, I exaggerate a little). Someone asked the syndicated advice columnist, Miss Manners, how long it was appropriate to offer that greeting. (She likened it to people who leave their Christmas decorations up too long, but frankly who cares?)

Well, I'm going to continue it for a while longer. I was careful during December to not offer "Merry Christmas" to customers unless a) they were sporting Christmas garb, b) they said it first, or c) I knew them well enough to know they wouldn't be offended. I resorted to the generic "Happy Holidays" but then I had a customer whose religion doesn't celebrate anything at this time of year and she made a point of letting me know that.

So "Happy New Year" it is - at least until I offend someone.

So what's your take on this?

posted by Sandy of Sandy's Stuff for Women @ 12:37 PM  

3 Comments:

  • At Sunday, January 6, 2008 at 6:34:00 PM EST, Blogger Debby said…

    I guess most people have not heard about the simple two word answer. "Thank you." If someone wished me happy whatever that was not within my belief system, I would just smile and be pleased with their joy. Humrpf!

     

  • At Monday, January 7, 2008 at 8:54:00 AM EST, Blogger Louise Kahle said…

    Just yesterday, I wished a couple of people a Happy New Year. They both gave me a smile and thank you. This year I started wishing everyone a Merry Christmas again. Who cares what their beliefs are! For me, wishing someone a Merry Christmas is equivalent to saying "Have a nice day", only better.
    So, I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and have a Happy New Year.
    By the way, my decorations are still up.

     

  • At Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 4:04:00 PM EST, Blogger Cheryl Engfer said…

    Well I'm afraid Miss Manners will not be so happy with me. Yesterday was my "official" 1st day back to work after the holidays. I went and visited with some referral sources that I hadn't seen before Christmas and delivered their New Year gift.
    I was welcomed with "Happy New Year!"

    Good for you Louise your decorations are still up, Mark took ours down 2 days before New Year's. He gets bored on vacation :)

     

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