Every year around this time, Australia enters the same strange debate:
Should we stop saying “Merry Christmas” so we do not offend anyone?
This week, a mainstream morning show reignited the argument.
Councils have started swapping Christmas banners for “Season’s Greetings” and stripping the word Christmas off festive displays, opting for generic “Joy” and “Festive Wishes” instead.
Let us be clear:
This is not inclusion.
This is confusion.
And it is making Australia look ridiculous.
The real question is who exactly is offended?
We are Australians. Sikh by faith. Deeply connected to multicultural communities.
And let us tell you this truth:
Not one person we know – Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, or otherwise – is offended by the words “Merry Christmas”.
Why?
Because Christmas in Australia is not just a religious observance.
It is a cultural moment – a national ritual of:
– family
– rest
– generosity
– gratitude
– community
Even those who do not follow a faith of Jesus Christ, still enjoy the public holiday, the atmosphere, the lights, the food, the break, the summer spirit, the festivities and, if nothing the retail sales.
We celebrate Diwali.
We celebrate Eid.
We celebrate Lunar New Year.
We celebrate Vesakhi.
Why? Because we celebrate each other.
So why, in the name of “inclusion”, are we erasing the one holiday we all actually share?
Pandering is not inclusion – it is alienation
When councils avoid the word Christmas, they are not protecting multicultural communities.
They are patronising them.
They are also ironically doing exactly what they accuse others of doing: singling out a faith group and making them feel ‘othered’.
Christians, Catholics and all those that follow a faith of Jesus Christ – the very groups whose holiday this is – end up feeling like their own tradition is something to tiptoe around.
How is that inclusion?
How is that respect?
How is that multiculturalism?
It is not.
It is pandering dressed up as progress.
And pandering always backfires.
Multiculturalism means calling things what they are
If someone invites us to celebrate Eid, we do not rebrand it “Season’s Greetings”.
We say Eid Mubarak.
If someone lights a lamp at Diwali, we do not rename it “Festival of Generic Joy”.
We say Happy Diwali.
If someone marks Lunar New Year, we do not call it “Good Luck Month”.
We say Gong Xi Fa Cai or Chúc Mừng Năm Mới.
Calling celebrations by their names is not exclusion.
It is respect.
And Christmas deserves the same.
Australia is going through an identity wobble.
We want multiculturalism, but we fear naming cultures.
We want inclusion, but we sanitise traditions.
We want unity, but we erase the things that unite us.
Truth be told: This insecurity is creating more division, not less.
If we cannot confidently say “Merry Christmas” in Australia – in a country that legally, historically, and culturally recognises 25 December as Christmas Day – then what are we doing?
Multiculturalism does not mean dilution.
It means celebrating everyone’s culture without erasing anyone’s.
So here’s our message to Australia: stop walking on eggshells.
Say Merry Christmas.
Say it with warmth, with generosity, with pride.
No apology necessary.
Let Christians, Catholics and all others celebrate Christmas.
Let others enjoy the holiday without pretending it is something else.
Let us embrace each other’s festivals without fear or overthinking.
We live in a country where:
• Gurdwaras serve langar to everyone,
• Mosques open their doors for Iftar,
• Temples welcome the whole community for Diwali,
• Churches host carols for all.
This is who we are. This is the Australia we love.
We share a nation.
We share a holiday.
We share a season of connection that belongs to all of us, regardless of faith.
So let us stop sanitising everything into beige nothingness.
Let us celebrate with honesty and heart.
From our family to yours, proudly and unapologetically:
Merry Christmas and blessings that you go into 2026 with purpose, prosperity and positivity.
