Historians believe it might boil down to a simple grammatical lesson. Happy is a word that describes an inner emotional condition, while merry is more of a behavior descriptor something active and maybe even raucous. Consider, for example, the free-spirited act of merry-making versus the state of simply being happy.

歷史學(xué)家認(rèn)為,，它可以歸結(jié)為一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的語法范疇?！癏appy”這個(gè)詞描述的是一種內(nèi)在的情緒狀態(tài),，而“merry”更多的是一種行為描述，一種活躍的,、甚至是鬧哄哄的樣子,。例如，你琢磨一下自由自在的尋歡作樂行為（merry）和單純的快樂狀態(tài)（happy）,。

happy: 側(cè)重感到滿足,、幸福或高興,。

merry: 指精神情緒的暫時(shí)高漲,，表示歡樂、愉快的心境或情景,，側(cè)重充滿歡笑聲和樂趣,。

As both words evolved and changed meaning over time, people slowly stopped using merry as its own individual word during the 18th and 19th centuries. It stuck around in common phrases like the more, the merrier, as well as in things like Christmas songs and stories, largely due to the influence of Charles Dickens. The Victorian Christmas went on to define many of today's Christmas traditions.

隨著時(shí)間的推移，這兩個(gè)詞的含義不斷演變,。在18和19世紀(jì),，人們慢慢地不再使用merry作為單獨(dú)的單詞。它在諸如the more, the merrier這樣的常見短語中,，以及在圣誕歌曲和故事中一直存在,，這在很大程度上要?dú)w功于查爾斯·狄更斯(Charles Dickens)的影響。維多利亞時(shí)代的圣誕節(jié)更是奠定了許多今天的圣誕節(jié)傳統(tǒng),。

Wait. Does anyone say 'Happy Christmas'?

那么,，還有人說“Happy Christmas”嗎？

Yes! For starters, it's important to note that Happy Christmas hasn't faded completely it's still widely used in England. This is believed to be because happy took on a higher class connotation than merry, which was associated with the rowdiness of the lower classes. The royal family adopted Happy Christmas as their preferred greeting, and others took note. (In fact, each year, Queen Elizabeth continues to wish her citizens a Happy Christmas, rather than a merry one.)

是的!首先,，要注意的是“Happy Christmas”并沒有完全消失,，它在英國(guó)仍被廣泛使用。這被認(rèn)為是因?yàn)椤癶appy”比“merry”具有更高的階級(jí)內(nèi)涵,，“merry”與下層階級(jí)的喧鬧有關(guān),。英國(guó)王室將“Happy Christmas”作為他們最喜歡的問候方式，其他人也注意到了這一點(diǎn),。(事實(shí)上,，伊麗莎白女王每年都會(huì)繼續(xù)祝她的國(guó)民Happy Christmas，而不是merry,。)