Just out of curiosity - if you know people who get upset at "Season's Greetings" instead

[Igel]

5. I find it mildly irritating.

It's a way of referring to a Xian holiday without actually having the guts to name it because somebody might be offended at its mention.

In other words, it's bowdlerizing the language and making it fuzzier than it needs to be.

There's a claim to be made that it's a shortcut, making it faster to get past the otherwise meaningless nicety of saying "Merry Xmas and Happy New Year's". If it's such a pain to bring up and so meaningless, best to not bother making an insincere wish.

Note that I don't say "Merry Xmas" since, while Xian, my particular little offshoot of the conglomeration of faiths and beliefs that get shoved into that category doesn't observe it. I occasionally say "Happy New Year's", but only infrequently. (In fact, I personally find the orgy of greed and the cloying Xmas carols mildly offensive, a dedication of the state to the supporting of the dominant strain of a single belief system that basically entails being forced to observe the day in some ways as the entire federal, state, and local government--with businesses--shut down.)

However, "Merry Xmas" I take at face value for the most part--a wish that I be well and prosperous during the time. The observation offends me; the greeting does not.