Why I said "Happy holidays" to my customers, and what happened when I did

In Argentina, where I was born and raised, approximately 90% of people are baptized Catholics, around 70% consider themselves "practising Catholics", but 20% actually go to mass regularly. The second article of the constitution stablishes that the Argentine government supports the Catholic Apostolic Roman church. Anyone is free to follow any other faith, or hold no religion at all. But the government supports only one way of life. What's truly alarming, is that the Catholic Church is the only one financially sustained by the state. All tax payers support it, regardless of their beliefs. Abortion is illegal because of the church's influence in the law. Until the 1950's, so was divorce. Until 1994, the president HAD to be Catholic, by law. The ignorance regarding any other religion is overwhelming. A great number of Argentineans think protestant churches are cults run by greedy charlatans that take money from brainwashed fanatics. And, let's face it, some of them are. (I wouldn't trust those rich pastors that enjoy appearing on TV all the time). But it's extremely ignorant to assume all of them are. Yet, it's human nature to fear what's different.
I didn't realize how wrong it is when one religion is granted supremacy over all others, until I converted to Methodism at the age of 16. Suddenly, my religion was unknown, misunderstood and treated as less.
So, when I read about the bickering going on in the US about saying "Happy Holidays" to strangers over "Merry Christmas", I didn't hesitate to side with those who choose "Happy Holidays".
I was taught that all those who worship the one and only God, and don't do any harm (such as Muslims or Jewish), are equally valid. And even those religions I have nothing in common in with (like Hinduism or Buddhism) are to be respected, so are all good-hearted people that are non-believers. My only grudge is with religious extremists, weather it is an Islamic extremist murdering innocents, or a Christian fanatic boycotting funerals of gay people, harassing women outside abortion clinics or simply being hateful towards those who are different. If your religion makes you hate someone, perhaps it's time to start shopping for a new one.
All major religions have celebrations that occur in December. It'd be wrong to treat mine as the only one. So, in the spirit of respecting all good-hearted people, I decided this year to say "happy Holidays" to my customers. Such greeting includes everybody in my joy.
This took NOTHING away from my Christianity or my personal enjoyment of the season. I still put up a Christmas tree and ate the typical food. I said Merry Christmas to my family, friends, facebook followers and whoever says it first. I went to Church on Christmas day.  And, guess what? The coffee Starbucks offers around Christmas tastes as good, regardless of it's name or the cup's colour. My private spaces are my own. The only thing I didn't do is to impose my beliefs on complete strangers, in a supermarket that belongs to all paying customers. Was that a hard thing to do? Not at all.
The war was never against Christmas or Christianity. There was, however, a fight against white-Christian supremacy. And the supremacists fought back... hitting hard, in the US and the UK.
Two of my colleges told me "This is England! Here we say Merry Christmas!". Yes, England's official religion is Christianity, and it always will be. But what about non-Christians who are British?  Isn't this their country too? Imposing the official religion in all the citizens/residents is not that different than non-Catholics in Argentina being shoved Catholicism down their throats.
Two of my customers protested, telling me to say "Merry Christmas". But most of them responded politely saying "thanks" or "You too". Many of my customer chuckled or smirked, feeling amused. I hope I made some of them think, think about the spirit of Christmas. Reflect on the words of Christ, on his lessons of love, equality and inclusion.