Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – December 24, 2017

What was the original meaning of merry in "Merry Christmas?" Today merry, as in "Merry Christmas," suggests gaiety, a mood for celebration, but its original meaning was quite different. For example, the carol we sing as "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," should be read as "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen." The word was at least four hundred years old when but was first written down in 1827, and at that time merry didn't mean joyous, but rather, peaceful or pleasant. ("The Little Book of Answers," by Doug Lennox)