Merry (Happy) Chrismukkah, Everyone!

Hanukkah falls on December 25 this year, making it an especially ecumenical holiday. So Happy Chrismukkah to you all. And, if neither of those holidays lined up with your religious traditions, enjoy all that stuff that stuff that is pagan or just plain odd—a fat man delivering toys to children, dead trees in living rooms, gift-giving, feasting, and (as is part of our tradition) movie-going. A long time ago, Sally started putting a bottle or Orval into my stocking—hanging socks from the mantle being another non-religious observation in our celebrations—and it has now become an honored tradition.

Even wishing someone a “merry” Christmas has become part of our ritual. It sounds very Victorian British, but of course the Brits use the more common “happy.” Curious, yes? Theories about this abound and both phrases are quite old. “Merry Christmas” dates to at least the early 16th century in the UK (the U.S. at the time harboring no European Christians), but in more recent times the monarchy’s official position has been “Happy” Christmas.

Some argue that this arises from the subtly different meanings of the words. Fans of this theory claim that the two words describe slightly different ways of being—happy describing an inner, individual experience, merry a description of behavior. This is unpersuasive. Popular phrases and idioms never have anything to do with highly subtle linguistic distinctions—they emerge through use and popularity and routinely subvert the original, plain meaning of the words in question.

More intriguing is this explanation. In the 18th and 19th century, Brits started using “merry” as a synonym for “drunk.” The state of merriment was considered base and vulgar by the upper classes (who probably spent more of their time drunk, on expensive booze, than the peasants). So as a matter of cultural conditioning, the King, beginning with George V in 1932, started wishing his subjects “Happy Christmas.” He did not want them carousing on the streets, full of gin and ale, but chastely attending their families and presumably roasting Christmas geese or eel pie.

In any event, I hope you make merry, and are happy and full of joy on this day. (And as a good American, I encourage you to please ignore the King.)

Cheers!