Happy Christmas vs. Merry Christmas

Gerald   Mon Dec 26, 2005 5:59 am GMT
I am well aware that in the US they say "Merry Christmas" while in the UK and other commonwealth countries they say "Happy Christmas". However, I also know that in the US everyone says "Happy Birthday", "Happy New Year", "Happy Thanksgiving", "Happy Hannukah", "Happy Easter", "happy this", and "happy that". So, why is it that Americans use "merry" instead of "happy" for Christmas when they use "happy" for almost every other occasion? Does anyone know the history behind "merry" vs. "happy" or how it started or who started it? I've always been kind of curious about this.

In any case, I wish evryone a wonderful holiday season.
Tiffany   Mon Dec 26, 2005 6:33 am GMT
I don't know the history, but I'd say there was little difference in meaning between Merry Christmas and Happy Christmas.
Larissa   Mon Dec 26, 2005 7:45 am GMT
I prefer "Merry Christmas" to "Happy Christmas", it sounds nicer!!!
JakubikF   Mon Dec 26, 2005 8:50 am GMT
For me (polish native speaker) Merry Christmas sound much better and more natural than Happy Christmas. I even have been thinking that using Happy Christmas is not really correct.
Guest   Mon Dec 26, 2005 9:15 am GMT
<and other commonwealth countries they say "Happy Christmas">

Not really,majority of people here perfer 'Merry Christmas' - well thats for Australians and New Zealanders.

Happy Christmas? Bejeezers you won't catch me with that slipping of me tongue.
JJM   Mon Dec 26, 2005 9:51 am GMT
I rather think "Merry Christmas" is an older term that would have been much more commonly used in England up to the 19th Century. This would make sense; AE often preserves features that would be old-fashioned in BE.

Outside of the UK, I generally hear "Merry Christmas." And, while "Happy Christmas" is still widely used in Britain, "Merry Christmas" is definitely making a comeback.

Perhaps this is the effect of the rising use of AE terms due to movies and marketing?
Rick Johnson   Mon Dec 26, 2005 10:07 am GMT
Merry Christmas is well used in Britain.

The use of the term "Happy Christmas" is quite modern and was really to get away from the drunken connotations of the word "merry". The Carol "we wish you a merry christmas" is thought to date back to about the 16th century.
Gerald   Mon Dec 26, 2005 9:16 pm GMT
Thank you for your responses, although I must admit that only JJM and Rick Johnson even came close to answering my questions. I was not trying to imply that one expression was better than the other so there was no need for responses like <<I prefer "Merry Christmas" to "Happy Christmas", it sounds nicer!!!>> since my question was NOT "Which expression do you prefer?" or "Which expression do you think sounds nicer?". I was merely interested in the historical background of how and why these two expressions evolved and why it is that Americans use "merry" for "Christmas" even though they use "happy" for all other events. I never asked for subjective opinions as to which sounds "nicer" or which is more "appropriate". That would be a topic for a different thread.
Uriel   Tue Dec 27, 2005 7:30 am GMT
I've never heard anyone say "Happy Christmas", either here in the US or anywhere else.

I would guess that we use "merry" because that is the traditional greeting, and Christmas especially is a time when we stick to traditions. It seems to be a highly conservative holiday in that respect. Easter, Fourth of July, and birthdays are much more open to variation, but at Christmas, for instance, we trot out the same old carols everyone's been singing for hundreds of years, the same basic decorative motifs, old recipes that have been handed down for generations, etc. Perhaps because it is so associated with family and family traditions, it becomes a time when heritage is more important than innovation, and so we tend to look backwards in time rather than forwards.
Kirk   Tue Dec 27, 2005 7:42 am GMT
<<
I would guess that we use "merry" because that is the traditional greeting, and Christmas especially is a time when we stick to traditions. It seems to be a highly conservative holiday in that respect. Easter, Fourth of July, and birthdays are much more open to variation, but at Christmas, for instance, we trot out the same old carols everyone's been singing for hundreds of years, the same basic decorative motifs, old recipes that have been handed down for generations, etc. Perhaps because it is so associated with family and family traditions, it becomes a time when heritage is more important than innovation, and so we tend to look backwards in time rather than forwards.>>

Even to the point of associating Christmas with the Northern European/Northern North American ideal of a wintry day with snow and the like when it's not really appropriate to all the climes here. Living in San Diego (this also applies to many other places in California, for that matter, except the mountains) and seeing Christmas decorations everywhere with snowmen and reindeer and the general White Christmas theme always makes me chuckle a bit, especially as I'm walking around in my shorts and sandals as always.

Anyway, back to the topic, I only say and hear "Merry Christmas."
Larissa   Tue Dec 27, 2005 7:51 am GMT
just curious what time is it there in the US?
Kirk   Tue Dec 27, 2005 8:08 am GMT
<<just curious what time is it there in the US?>>

That depends on which time zone you're talking about (there are three time zones in the contiguous US). Here in California it's currently 12:07 am but in New York it's 3:07 am.
Guest   Tue Dec 27, 2005 9:37 am GMT
could we say "merry birthday" ? It sounds strange to me.
Kirk   Tue Dec 27, 2005 10:06 am GMT
I only say "Happy Birthday"--which is all I've ever heard for it.
Gerald   Tue Dec 27, 2005 7:18 pm GMT
OKAY - I'll rephrase my question: How and when did the "Merry Christmas" - "Happy Chritmas" split emerge? (Think along the lines of the "foot - strut" split when answering this question). I just want an objective, factual, response. Time zones are irrelevant in this discussion.