ELI5 Xmas - why some say Happy Christmas vs Merry Christmas (part 1)?

Why do people in the UK typically say Happy Christmas while in America it is most commonly Merry Christmas? What made red and green Christmas colors? Is it true that Coca-Cola popularized the modern look of Santa Claus? Why do most of our "traditional" Christmas songs, images and TV/movies come from the 1940s to the 1960s? Brian Earl from the Christmas Past podcast joins us to ELI5 a range of Xmas questions. ... and we explain like i'm five! Help more people fund us by leaving a rating on iTunes. Thank you to Brian Earl from the Christmas Past podcast. If you'd like to hear more excellent xmas episodes, check out Brian's podcast here: To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

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ELI5 Xmas - why some say Happy Christmas vs Merry Christmas (part 1)? is an episode from Explain Like I'm 5: Bite sized answers to stuff you should know about - in a mini podcast by ELI5 Explain Like I'm Five Podcast.

This episode is 10:22 long.

This episode was published on Dec 19, 2025.

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