Why the British Do Not Say Merry Christmas?

The phrase “Merry Christmas” is one of the most familiar and warmly received expressions in the English-speaking world. It feels timeless, wholesome, and inseparable from the holiday itself.

Yet its history is more complicated than most people realize. For centuries, the phrase sparked debate, discomfort, and even moral criticism. It also raises an interesting question: why do people say “Merry Christmas,” but not “Merry Easter,” “Merry Birthday,” or similar greetings? And why do people in Britain still tend to say “Happy Christmas” instead?

Understanding these differences requires a look at language, culture, religion, and class.

To begin with, the words “merry” and “happy” do not share the same origins or emotional meanings. “Merry” entered English earlier, derived from Old English and other Germanic roots meaning pleasant, agreeable, or joyful. By the twelfth century, it was commonly used to describe cheerfulness and social enjoyment. “Happy” appeared later, around the fourteenth century, and comes from the word “hap,” meaning luck or fortune. Originally, a happy person was someone favored by good circumstances rather than someone expressing outward joy.

For many centuries, both “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Christmas” were used as seasonal greetings. There was no firm rule, and written records show both phrases appearing in letters, poems, and sermons. However, Christmas itself was not always the quiet, reflective holiday it later became. In earlier periods, especially before the nineteenth century, Christmas celebrations often included heavy drinking, loud gatherings, public revelry, and social inversion. By this time, the word “merry” had taken on additional connotations of rowdiness and excess.

This association made some religious commentators uneasy. Long before the Victorian era, critics argued that noisy celebration distracted from the sacred meaning of Christ’s birth. As early as the eighteenth century, writers condemned what they saw as drunken or pagan behavior during Christmas festivities. One critic in 1772 described “Merry Christmas” as morally inappropriate, comparing contemporary celebrations to pagan feasts rather than Christian devotion. These objections were not universal or official church doctrine, but they reflect a persistent undercurrent of religious concern.

The tension intensified during the Victorian era, when social reformers sought to redefine Christmas as a moral, family-centered, and emotionally restrained holiday. Some clergy argued that “happy” better captured quiet gratitude and inner peace, while “merry” suggested performative or excessive cheer. In 1864, Reverend Gordon Calthrop publicly advocated for “Happy Christmas,” arguing that loud merriment could mask emotional emptiness. To him and others like him, true happiness was calm, sincere, and inward.

Despite these objections, popular culture overwhelmingly favored “Merry Christmas.” The phrase appeared in early commercial Christmas cards, traditional carols, and, most influentially, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”. Dickens used “Merry Christmas” repeatedly and never once used “Happy Christmas.” His work reshaped public imagination around the holiday, presenting warmth, generosity, and joy as moral virtues rather than moral threats. Even “The Night Before Christmas” shifted in later printings from “Happy Christmas” to “Merry Christmas,” reflecting changing cultural preferences.

By the late nineteenth century, “Merry Christmas” had become dominant in the United States. In Britain, however, the phrase was sometimes viewed as overly sentimental or lacking refinement, especially as it became strongly associated with American popular culture. British upper classes increasingly favored “Happy Christmas” as the more restrained and dignified expression.

That preference was reinforced in the twentieth century when King George V used “Happy Christmas” in his first royal Christmas broadcast. Subsequent monarchs, including George VI and Elizabeth II, continued the tradition, firmly establishing “Happy Christmas” as the standard British greeting.

Today, the two phrases are largely synonymous, but they still carry subtle cultural echoes of their past. “Merry Christmas” emphasizes warmth, celebration, and shared joy, while “Happy Christmas” reflects a quieter, more reserved sensibility. What once sparked moral debate now serves as a reminder of how language evolves alongside culture, belief, and tradition.

Prof. Tim McGuinness, Ph.D.
December 2025