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?
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