As this is the time to wish the season’s greeting to everyone many of you might be wondering why it’s always a Merry Christmas and not Happy Christmas, so here’s what you need to know.
We have often seen that when it comes to wishing people we often use the word Happy, for instance, Happy Diwali, Happy Birthday, Happy Holi, and so on. But when it comes to greeting others during the festival season on Christmas we say Merry Christmas. But have you ever wondered why we use Merry on Christmas day? So let’s know the answer.
The greeting “Merry Christmas” dates back to 1565, it was the year when the author of the Hereford Municipal Manuscript wrote, “And thus I comytt you to god, who send you a Merry Christmas and a comfort, to your heart’s desire.” Even the first commercially sold Christmas card (also printed in 1843) had the salutation “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You,” which depicted a prosperous family framed by images of people feeding and clothing poor people.
In the 18th century, “merry” was a far more popular word than it is today. But not everyone knows that in the year 1534 letter from a bishop to royal minister Thomas Cromwell was sent. That had its first written record in which Merry Christmas was mentioned. Later Merry started getting more popular to our ears. Happy somewhat sounds like a more sober form of celebration, however, the word merry has the childlike wilderness and happiness associated with it.
Here’s the first Christmas with Merry Christmas written on it.
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