while it seems everyone else says ‘happy christmas’
which imo is a way better phrase, it’s very … pragmatic. happiness is more attainable than merriment. how often is anyone merry?
Merry Christmas is a popular expression in the UK too.
I think that merriment is actually much easier to attain than happiness. One could be miserable in life, but have a few drinks and be merry.
Is it wrong for me to say that the pessimism with a side of alcohol is the most British you could possibly describe being merry?
Personally, merry Christmas just sounds better than happy Christmas. Something about the repeated “m” sound, I think.
That’s called euphonics, and I agree
The song goes “We wish you a merry Christmas”, so that’ll always be there for as long as the song is popular.
Plus (also because of the song, I assume), you say “merry Christmas and a happy new year”, not “happy Christmas and a happy new year”. Too much happy there.
Who is “everyone else” in this story?
The only place I know that days Happy Christmas is the UK
In Australia, it’s merry
I’m from the UK, and I’ve always said merry.
I doubt it’s any more prevalent in a specific country and more likely specific to individual families and friends.
For example, i always thought it was an american thing to say happy christmas.
Definitely not an American thing. It’s ALL Merry over here.
My family always said happy, but we also say Gesundheit, so who knows
Either way, happy and merry Christmas to you :)
Happy Merry to you too!
In the US, it’s incredibly rare if not impossible to find someone who says “Happy Christmas.” It’s either “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays.”
In my country we say “Have a good Yule”.
God jul!
God jul och glad fortsättning!
Yule see, yule all see!
Well your country is wrong.
Nä, julen är äldre än kristmässan.
Crazy how easy it was to understand that sentence perfectly without speaking any Nordic languages
Det är bra att man kan göra sig förstådd såhär i juletider.
Now this sentence I don’t understand at all
Det var verkligen jättetråkigt :(
no u
Insofar as there’s a distinction between the two, I feel like you’ve got it switched. Merriment would be a night out with drinks and friends, whereas deep happiness would be more like contentedness with your life choices. But they’re about the same. Plus “A Christmas Carol” uses Merry, and it’s like the ultimate Christmas story.
Tradition, mostly.
Dickens used Merry Christmas in his Christmas Carol and the US used the greeting since the 19th century.
In the UK however, happy christmas is more common as the royals used that phrase.
There’s apparently no big thing behind it. Just the way language evolved with different influences in different regions.
am from uk. merry christmas is very much the common phrase here by a long shot
Agreed - it’s merry christmas and happy new year.
“Merry Christmas” is pretty much the only context Americans use the word “Merry”
Around here we wish you a homosexual Christmas
AKA: make the yule time gay.
We like to brag about our ability to still pronounce the R sound.
Similar to why Brits say Happy Christmas, honestly.
Lol no. You yanks can’t pronounce the R. The only real R is a rolling R. If your tongue is not tapping and vibrating against your palate you are not pronouncing an R.
Stupid comment. You’re referring to the Spanish R, or in a language with a similar R sound.
Imagine if a French or German person told you that their R is the only way to pronounce the R.
This kind of misguided gatekeeping is exhausting.
Dude it was a joke. The first comment was a joke, and the reply was a follow-up “no u” joke. I’m sorry you can’t read into subtext without /s
Also, Spanish R? Have you not heard of Scots? It’s called apical-alveolar trill, and I wish i could pronounce it better lol
Oh. Teehee. All good then. Happy holidays fellow lemming.
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If Americans aren’t pronouncing an R, then what letter are they pronouncing?
[ɹ]
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There’s a slight chance I could be convinced to accept the french R into the company of real R sounds, but I agree the rolling one is where it’s at. The American one is something special.
The only people I’ve personally known who exclusively say “Happy Christmas” are Irish. Are you Irish, OP?
Bah humbug
Canada says Merry Christmas even though we usually do British spelling and measurements.
Also, the north pole is either in Canada or Russia (not going to look it up) so we are probably correct.
The area around the north pole is just ice without any land underneath. It’s also not part of any nation.
Happy Chrimbo
I think Merry Christmas is a harken to antiquated dialect, much like other religious phrases. Thou shalt not kill or Thy will be done or extra Ecclesiam nulla salus
