Nearly two-thirds of Americans prefer the traditional religious greeting of “Merry Christmas” to the non-specific “Happy Holidays,” a poll found.

Of adults surveyed nationally, 64 percent said people should say, “Merry Christmas,” while 31 percent believe the appropriate greeting is “Happy Holidays,” the Knights of Columbus-Marist poll released Friday said.

For more than five decades, the Knights have been at the forefront of the campaign to “Keep Christ in Christmas,” producing public service announcements with the “Keep Christ in Christmas” message since the 1980s.

“That we prefer ‘Merry Christmas‘ by such a wide margin is indicative of the importance that Christmas has in the lives of the great majority of Americans,” Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said.

Reflections of vulgate communication skills is always dependent on context. If Mr. Supreme Knight Carl Anderson was trolling the streets of Berlin, say, in 1935 – no doubt his greeting would have been, “Heil, Hitler”. In fact, I have no reason to believe his peers, his antecedents said anything different.