Correct Christmas greeting

[Justa47]

Should it be Merry Christmas not happy?

Isn’t it Merry Christmas and a happy new year?

Does this annoy anyone else?

Christmas Ho! Or the more formal Christmas Ho, ho hoey!

@MistleTOEboughski

Haha excellent

Merry Christmas ho ho ho

@Justa47

Should it be Merry Christmas not happy?

Isn’t it Merry Christmas and a happy new year?

Does this annoy anyone else?

Completely with you on this, drives me potty, even though I know it’s irrational!

My late MIL hated the word Merry because of drunkenness connotations. Woe betide anyone who wrote it on her gift tags or cards. But I’m sure it originally just meant joyful. The words of the Sussex Carol c 1684) include

“News of great joy, news of great mirth
News of our merciful King's birth”

Depends how much you intend drinking! (Hic)

@Bimblepops

Exactly

Happy christmas. Merry christmas. Who cares over such a minor thing? The sentiment is just the same for both.

I say both. I'm on a lot of AA groups and they say "a merry and sober Christmas" 😀😀

@Lobsterquadrille2

That’s cool as the Merry means laughter and fun not plastered

I don’t really care. I do like ‘Merry Yuletide’ though. I just like the word Yuletide, no idea why.

Merry Christmas was an American thing, originally. Happy Christmas was the originally 'correct' version for much of the UK. Not that it matters, and it's nice when people say it either way!

OverTheRubicon see, that’s what I always thought, but a few people have said it’s the opposite. I may need to investigate further (seeing that it’s 5.20 in the morning and I can’t sleep, I have nothing better to do!). Either way, hope everyone has had a Merry...or indeed Happy...Christmas!

@zzizz

I vaguely remember reading or hearing that "Merry" has connotations of drinking, so "Happy" is the more straitlaced version.

There's a huge chance this was a dream of course

I was told the same growing up.

Crikey I didn't know this was a thing.

Always thought Happy was an English thing.

I'm Canadian and I always thought the same.

@Andylion

Nope it’s people not thinking. Or doing what they want

This is an interesting article - happy is the original and is associated with a higher class status which explains why the royal family use it.

www.countryliving.com/life/a37128/origin-of-merry-christmas/

@OverTheRubicon

Merry Christmas was an American thing, originally. Happy Christmas was the originally 'correct' version for much of the UK. Not that it matters, and it's nice when people say it either way!

Apparently not, just read that it dates back to a England in the 1500s and then made popular by the English song, ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’.

@Ifailed

Who are you going to saying it to, I thought we were all supposed to be staying inside?

I don't think there are any rules about not using phones/WhatsApp/zoom etc🙄🙄

I think I heard that this year it is 'Sodding Christmas and Bloody New Year'

but I may have mis-heard it.

@PurpleFlower1983

Exactly I thought the original was Merry

We don’t have to speak in set phrases, we’re not actors in a play. People can say what they like, however they like, to express their thoughts.

We've always said Happy Christmas. But you can wish people any sort of Christmas you want, even things like hairy, smelly or spiky Christmas if you want, it's not very nice but it's still linguistically correct.

No.

And who precisely do you think makes the rules on this, OP? Debretts? Santa Claus? Hallmark? That strange, pallid little rodent man called Hanson whose grasp of ‘etiquette’ extends to writing for the Daily Mail?

@Djouce

No.

And who precisely do you think makes the rules on this, OP? Debretts? Santa Claus? Hallmark? That strange, pallid little rodent man called Hanson whose grasp of ‘etiquette’ extends to writing for the Daily Mail?

Hyacinth Bucket makes the rules I should think, or someone very like her. I’m sure the OP never says Santa either . It’s much more important to be correct than have either a happy or a merry time!