“The God Delusion” author Richard Dawkins has sort of defended the integrity of Christmas against political correctness by rejecting “Happy Holidays.”

In a response to an article from the Independent about the newfound hatred for the politically-correct, wholly-illogical “Happy Holidays,” Dawkins asserted that atheists are not responsible for the phrase’s invention, putting the blame squarely on the shoulders of religious relativists.

“All that ‘Happy Holidays’ stuff (Holiday Parties, Holiday Presents etc) was never an atheist ‘War on Christmas’ but was simply pandering to equally foolish rival faiths,” Dawkins tweeted Monday. “Ditto ghastly fake carols about reindeer, Santa, sleigh-bells etc. So, HAPPY CHRISTMAS!”

Thanks for the show of support, Dawkins (if that’s indeed what it was).

The Independent article argued that some in Britain see “Happy Holidays” as a “craven attempt to appease Muslims, sometimes coupled to claims that Islam is a threat to a country’s ‘way of life.'”

Whatever the reason for “Happy Holidays,” as noted by Dennis Prager of Prager U, the phrase has only served to undermine Christmas in the service of political correctness.

Proponents of “Happy Holidays” argue it’s no big deal — proponents of “Merry Christmas” are making a mountain out of a molehill.

But the “Happy Holidays” advocates want it both ways. They dismiss opponents as hysterical; but at the same time, in addition to replacing “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays,” they have relentlessly pushed to replace “Christmas vacation” with “winter vacation” and “Christmas party” with “Holiday Party.”

So, then, which is it? Is all this elimination of the word “Christmas” important or not?

The answer is obvious. It’s very important. That’s why so much effort is devoted to substituting other words for “Christmas.” And these efforts have been extraordinarily successful. In place of the universal “Merry Christmas” of my youth, in recent decades I have been wished “Happy Holidays” by every waiter and waitress in every restaurant I have dined; by everyone who welcomes me at any business; by my flight attendants and pilots; and by just about everyone else.

Recently, HuffPo writer Doyin Richards argued that parents should teach their children to say “Happy Holidays” because “Merry Christmas” excludes people. He employed a weak analogy to illustrate his point: a restaurant adding more sauces to a menu in order to satisfy minority consumers while the majority enjoys marinara sauce.

“The owners did the wise thing and created a ‘sauce’ section in the buffet that also included ranch dressing, honey mustard, pesto and some secret sauce that nobody is quite sure of,” said Doyin. “The bottom line: Customers are still be able to stuff their faces with marinara if they choose, it’s just that marinara will be included in a section with other sauces as well.”

“That’s what ‘happy holidays’ is in a nutshell — a greeting of inclusion,” he continued.”Who in their right mind would have a problem with this? What guy boycotts a restaurant because he believes there’s a ‘war against marinara sauce?'”

Read more at Richard Dawkins: Happy Holidays Is Not An ‘Atheist War On Christmas’.