Vetnuus | Desember 2023 2 « BACK TO CONTENTS You will likely hear Merry Christmas many times during the holiday season. But have you ever stopped to WONDER why those are the words you hear? Why don't people wish you a Festive Christmas? In fact, why is Christmas merry when no other occasion seems to be? After all, you probably don't wish people a Merry Birthday very often. You probably also don't hear many Merry Hanukkahs or Merry Ramadans either! Historians and linguists can't pinpoint for sure exactly why we tend to use Merry Christmas. The greeting dates back to at least 1534 in London, when it was written in a letter sent to Henry VIII's chief minister Thomas Cromwell from bishop John Fisher. Scholars also note the phrase was used in the 16th-century English carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Merry Christmas certainly picked up steam in 1843 with the publication of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. That same year the phrase also appeared on the first commercially-sold Christmas card. However, Happy Christmas tends to be the preferred phrase for a significant minority of Great Britain. It could be due to the queen's influence. A rumour has circulated that Queen Elizabeth prefers happy to merry, because the word merry, to her, carries with it a sense of boisterousness and even intoxication. The Hebrew word merry is "meah", meaning joyful, merry, or glad. Some Christians therefore believe it is a more fitting greeting, given the unrestrained and emotional response followers should have to a celebration of the birth of their Savior, Jesus Christ. Joyful is feeling, expressing, or causing great pleasure and happiness. No matter your beliefs, let this time of year be a time of experiencing or feeling your great pleasure and happiness. This time of year is unfortunately also the time of year with most mental health challenges and suicides. May your actions go beyond your own experience and feelings to also ensure that they cause great pleasure and happiness in the lives of those you are interacting with daily. Do not be the one that is robbing people of their pleasure and happiness. If you must take action to address your actions, this is the time to do so! It is just too regularly to see reports of colleagues who just cannot handle the stressors anymore placed on them by colleagues. To the members and employees of SAVA, may this Christmas truly be a Merry Christmas where you will experience the feeling of great pleasure and happiness. Thank you to every person who contributed to my experience and feeling of great pleasure and happiness in serving you. I can honestly reverb the words of King Solomon “A merry heart doeth good like medicine”. Merry Christmas. v Kind regards, Paul van der Merwe From the President Dear members, 24-Hour, Toll-Free Helpline: 0800 21 21 21
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