2006-12-20 08:30:24 · 19 answers · asked by liekk x9x omgg 1 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Polls & Surveys
"Merry," came from the Old English myrige, originally meant "pleasant" rather than joyous or jolly (as in the phrase "merry month of May").
Though Christmas has been celebrated since the 4th century AD, the first known usage of any Christmastime greeting, "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" was in an informal letter written by an English admiral in 1699. The same phrase appeared in the first Christmas card, produced in England in 1843.
The then relatively new term "Merry Christmas" figured prominently in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in 1843. The cynical Ebenezer Scrooge rudely deflects the friendly greeting and broods on the foolishness of those who utter it. "If I could work my will," says Scrooge, "every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding." After the Spirits of Christmas effect his transformation, he is able to heartily exchange the wish with all he meets. The continued popularity of A Christmas Carol and the Victorian era Christmas traditions it typifies have led some to credit Dickens with popularizing, or even originating, the phrase "Merry Christmas".
The alternative "Happy Christmas" gained wide usage in the late 19th century, and is still common in the United Kingdom and Ireland. One reason may be the alternative meaning, still current there, of "merry" as "tipsy" or "drunk." Queen Elizabeth II is said to prefer "Happy Christmas" for this reason. In American poet Clement Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (1823), the final line, originally written as "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night," has been changed in many editions to "Merry Christmas to all", perhaps indicating the relative popularity of the phrases in the United States.
2006-12-20 08:35:30 · answer #1 · answered by Johhny Drama 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Not really, it pisses me off when people say merry Christmas to me. I suppose you would be fine with everyone saying Happy Hanukkah to you even though you are not Jewish? If you know the person is christian then obviously it would be fine to say Merry Christmas but if you have no clue what religion they are you should say happy holidays.
2016-03-29 01:46:50 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because those two words have two different meanings...Merry means "Jolly" and Happy is a word used to describe an emotion. Happy is a feeling...and Merry is a state of mind...
2006-12-20 08:46:17 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
merry is more traditional. id rather say merry christmas than happy christmas
2006-12-20 08:32:25 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it would be weird to say happy christmas and happy new year. so to differentiate the two events we have to express our different levels of joy.
for christmas, we are happier and so we say merry because it's all jolly and bright and for new year we say happy because we are glad another year has come and we can begin those new year resolutions. i hope this clears it up a bit for ya.
2006-12-20 08:36:49 · answer #5 · answered by summerglow 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i don't know but i don't even say merry christmas..instead i say Happy holidays!
2006-12-20 08:33:11 · answer #6 · answered by Sexxssay? 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its merry like jolly
2006-12-20 08:32:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Um..... Just what they say where they live.. where i live EVERYONE says merry christmas
2006-12-20 08:32:40 · answer #8 · answered by Meow. 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its always been merry happy is for happy holidays
2006-12-20 08:50:15 · answer #9 · answered by the_blue_martini_69 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My real name is Mariah. The definition of my name is "stormy winds."
Relative to the conversation at hand? Not really, but I wanted to tell you anyway....
2006-12-20 08:37:05 · answer #10 · answered by toolate 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋