“圣诞节快乐”到底用Merry还是Happy?(2)

但英国女王在每年在圣诞致辞中，都会用Happy Christmas。
Queen Elizabeth of the UK uses “happy Christmas” in her Christmas speech.
因为在英式英语中，merry还有“微醺”的意思，所以它往往和下层社会的饮酒与粗鄙联系在一起，不符合女王的地位。
In the UK, “merry” is associated with the drinking and rowdiness of the lower classes.
rowdiness /radins/ n. 粗鄙
在王室的带领下，英国人也就更喜欢用happy了。
The royal family adopt “Happy Christmas” as their preferred greeting and others take note.

而美国人对“Merry Christmas”的偏爱则源于19世纪。
American’s preference to “Merry Christmas” originated from the 19th century.
狄更斯在小说《圣诞颂歌》中用到了这句话，当时正赶上印刷工业蓬勃发展，小说大获成功，几乎人手一本。
printing industry 印刷业
booming /bum/ adj. 蓬勃的
The booming printing industry made great contribution to education.
蓬勃发展的印刷业为教育做出了极大的贡献。