Common greeting during December in America. Instead of “Hi” or “Bye”, we might say “Merry Christmas.” In some cultures the phrase is Happy Christmas, which may mean about the same thing.
I was thinking of “merry” and “happy” and what does that mean. Maybe it means something like an often-heard parting “Have a good day.” Just a simple wish.
Paul, the Apostle, wrote about a way of life once to his friends in Galatia. He tried to describe how you could tell if you or someone you met was living in the spirit. He said that their life would exhibit, “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Could happiness, eudaimonia, also have fit?
I’m thinking about bringing the phrase we utter as a greeting into our self. That maybe we exhibit “having a merry Christmas” with a smile and an acknowledgement of the other person. That people can observe us and think, even if just briefly, “there is someone at peace and enjoying the season.”
So, I wish all of you a merry Christmas season. And if once or twice you exhibit the other meaning of merry, as in perhaps one wee nip of whiskey or whisky too much, well, so be it.
Faith Venture 
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