BTW, "separation of church and state" isn't found in the Constitution or Bill of Rights. And the oft-raised argument by your side of the fence (as used here also) is downright wrong and out-of-context from the intention of the "founding fathers" to which you so quickly alluded. They never intended for so-called 'separation' to be as it is today, which is basically "freedom FROM religion." (I refer you to virtually any pending ACLU case to illustrate my point.) All they intended was to ensure the government could not mandate that all citizens be Catholic, or Baptist, or Presbyterian; they certainly never meant for this nation to get away from the idea of God and the ideals found in the Bible.
Yet here we are arguing about whether or not it's okay to say "Merry CHRISTmas." Yeah, I'm sure that's what our founding fathers had in mind.
The wall of separation between church and state is impermeable on both sides. Read your Jefferson and your Madison before you say otherwise. The concept that the constituion merely forbids the establishment of a religion is an invention of the right wing conservative evangelicals, circa 1980.
And I don't know what Ben Franklin wished people at Christmas time. When was the term "Merry Christmas" first used?
"Io sono stanco, sono imbigliato, and I wan't everyone here to know, there ain't gonna be no trouble from me..Don Corleone..Cicc' a port!"
