"Merry Christmas"

[Jonathan Lighter]

I too have heard the line misquoted with "Merry," probably more often than the other way.  Seems as though the evil media are prime offenders.

JL

Barbara Need <nee1 at MIDWAY.UCHICAGO.EDU> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Barbara Need
Subject: Re: "Merry Christmas"
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>On Dec 25, 2004, at 3:08 PM, Arnold M. Zwicky wrote:
>
>>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>-----------------------
>>Sender: American Dialect Society
>>Poster: "Arnold M. Zwicky"
>>Subject: Re: "Merry Christmas"
>>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>--------
>>
>>On Dec 25, 2004, at 11:47 AM, Barbara Need wrote:
>>
>>>... I was recently rereading an Agatha Christie in which someone
>>>wishes
>>>another person "Merry Christmas", so the question may be, when the
>>>British start saying "Happy Christmas"?
>>
>>americans said it too: recall the final line of the famous poem of
>>12/23/1823:
>>
>>Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

I won't swear to it, but I'm pretty sure I have heard the poem
receited with "Merry".

>>arnold
>>
>
>Sigh! It's to my own great annoyance that I'm forced to point out that
>Americans *still* say "Happy Christmas." I always reply, "You mean,
>'*Merry* Christmas.'" One can only try.
>
>-Wilson

I asked a Brit today about this and he reports that Happy Christmas
is a recent phenomenon in England, within the last 20 years. He said
that it was a reaction to the association between _merry_ and
drinking and people didn't want Christmas connected to drinking.

I realize it is probably far more complicated than that (ain't it always!).

Barbara


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