When did we start saying Merry Christmas?
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| The first commercially produced Christmas card - 1843 |
The word 'mery' has been associated with Christmas from the 1500s. The first known use was thought to be in a letter from Bishop Fisher of Rochester to Thomas Cromwell in 1534:
"And this our Lord God send you a mery Christmas, and a comfortable, to your heart’s desire."
In 2022 researchers at Worcester Cathedral claimed that their bishop Charles Booth got his seasonal greeting ("merry this Christmas") fourteen years earlier.
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| 1520: letter from Bishop Charles Booth first known use of 'merry...Christmas' |