The first recorded use of the phrase “Merry Christmas” was in 1534 when English Catholic Bishop John Fisher wrote a Christmas letter to Thomas Cromwell.
The first known Christmas card was in 1611 when Michael Maier sent a Christmas greeting to King James I of England and his son, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales.
In 1843 John Callcott Horsley designed the first Christmas card as we know it today.
There’s a viral video doing the rounds on social media in which Jill Biden, donning a sparkly silver jacket, stands in front of a group of kids at the White House next to an equally festively-dressed Christmas tree to declare “Happy Holidays”.
One of thekids attending the Toys for Tots event immediately corrects the soon-to-be-retired First Lady, “Happy Christmas”.
That’s all it took for the religious versus secular mobs to start debating the merits or otherwise of the so-called more “inclusive” season’s greeting that’s grown in popularity over the past few years. Happy Holidays. It speaks to everyone and excludes no one, they reckon.
Helen Clark preferred the safe “Season’s Greetings” while in office, though more recently has taken to wishing Merry Christmas “to all those who celebrate it” on social media.
A scrubbed-up Prime Minister John Key and his wife Bronagh held hands in front of a pōhutukawa tree for their 2016 rendition of the PM’s Christmas card which reads “Christmas Wishes”, a horrendous muddling of Yuletide salutations akin to his criminally infamous three-way handshake.
Chris Hipkins' 2015 Christmas greeting featured his pooch Bella. He wishes “you and yours a very merry Christmas”.
I found a delectable photo of Labour MP, and pack leader, Chris Hipkins from 2015 cuddling his pooch Bella, who’s been dressed in Christmas tree antlers for the special occasion. Hipkins wishes “you and yours a very merry Christmas”.
Jacinda Ardern liked Meri Kirihimete and, in true PR-pro style, ran a competition for kids to send in their own ideas for her annual Christmas cards.
Oh to be a fly on the wall as politicians and their staff debate the many and varied ways to curate a Christmas greeting.
“Minister, if we wish a Merry Christmas we could alienate Muslim voters. Or the Sikhs! Good god, let’s not forget the Sikhs – a growing population, particularly in Auckland, where our support’s been weak of late.” “What about a different greeting for each of the 72 electorates?”. “What about ‘Have a Gay Christmas’? That gets the LGBTQ+ vote, doesn’t it?”
I thought the challenge of making a fully-formed pavlova was fraught with danger.
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?
The celebration started in Rome around 336AD to honour the birth of Jesus Christ, although it didn’t become a full-on Christian festival until the ninth century.
The Brits prefer Happy, the Yanks like Merry.
Christians brought Christmas Downunder in 1642 when Dutch sailors anchored near D’Urville islands feasted on freshly killed pork and chugged back rations of wine. Nice to know some things never change.
Pretty much everything else has changed in the intervening centuries.
More than 200 ethnicities now call this land home, 30% of us were born overseas. We speak 150 different languages between us and practise almost as many faiths. We’ve got Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Jews to name but a few. A big, beautiful melting pot.
Hence, I suspect, the move towards the rather bland “Happy Holidays” and “Seasons Greetings”.
But I reckon it’s time we stop feeling bad and worried we might offend somebody and stick with Merry Christy.
Most of us celebrate Christmas, no matter our faith. In fact, a majority of us now don’t even have a faith; we’ve been collectively losing our religions. The last time I went to church I was wearing Dickies shorts.
We’re far too busy filtering our duck faces on Instagram or trying on anti-wrinkle creams at Mecca to be kneeling at an altar.
On the whole, we’re a friendly and accommodating bunch; we say happy Eid, every February I butcher xīn nián kuài lè, Mandarin for Happy Chinese New Year and we now also celebrate Matariki.
It seems odd to remove the word Christmas from the country’s most popular and celebrated holiday on the basis of the religion it extracts from when we don’t apply the same logic to other festivities. Imagine wishing everybody a happy celestial evening at Matariki.
Christmas is largely a collective nostalgic tradition. For most not rooted in Christianity but in an idea. Once a year we think of others, we give to others. We do acts of service for those in need.
And for that reason, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with saying Merry Christmas in my mind.
Or. As we much prefer in my household, Merry Christmas ya filthy animals!
