- published: 20 Dec 2013
- views: 7453244
Holiday greetings are a selection of goodwill greetings used around the world to address strangers, family, coworkers or friends during the Christmas and holiday season, which spans an approximate timeframe of late November through January. Holidays generally thought to be included in this season include Christmas, New Year's Day, Hanukkah, Boxing Day, Epiphany, Thanksgiving and Kwanzaa. Some greetings are more prevalent than others, depending on the cultural and religious status of any given area.
Typically, a greeting consists of the word "Happy" followed by the holiday, such as "Happy New Year" or "Happy Hanukkah", although the phrase "Merry Christmas" or "Season's Greetings" can be a notable exception.
In the United States, the collective phrase "Happy Holidays" is often used as a generic cover-all greeting for all of the winter holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa; however, the phrase is not widespread in other countries.
The greetings and farewells "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Christmas" are traditionally used in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australasia, commencing a few weeks prior to Christmas (December 25) of every year.
chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
jack frost nipping on your nose,
yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
and folks dressed up like eskimos.
everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe,
help to make the season bright.
tiny tots with their eyes all aglow,
will find it hard to sleep tonight.
they know that santa's on his way;
he's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.
and every mother's child is going to spy,
to see if reindeer really know how to fly.
and so i'm offering this simple phrase,
to kids from one to ninety-two,
although its been said many times, many ways,
merry christmas
merry christmas