Words don’t have to be this blatantly offensive to cause offense. Watching what you say isn’t as easy — or even as all-fire important

By Scott Swedenburg

I experienced a similar problem with the opposite twist. Each year I wish everyone who receives my e-newsletter, Direct Marketing Tips, a “Merry Christmas.” One reader chastised me by asking how I knew whether or not she was a Christian. She said she wasn’t and that I needed to stop making assumptions about people. She insisted I should wish everyone “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”