Okay, this has been irking me no end...

[conuly]

Why do some people say "Happy New Years!" instead of "Happy New Year!"? The first implies that you only are well-wishing for the holiday itself, the second is a general wish that the entire new year be happy. I know which one I would prefer come true!

So, why say the former? Is it just that people base their holiday greeting conventions on the same pattern as "Merry Christmas!" and "Happy Groundhog Day" and don't really think about what they're saying? Hm. Wait, that could be it. Hm. Answers, please!

Comments

[goddess588.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that would be the abbreviation for Happy New Year's day, though I'm picking that a lot of the clowns who say it have no idea. And most of the English speaking world has problems with apostrophes. It drives me mad. Is it like that in other languages?

[conuly]

I really can't say... I know some languages, like Spanish, have far more regular spelling/punctuation rules, and others, like French, are only regular if you know the etymology of what you're saying (but you can read anything you see written, which is a plus)... but I don't know how literate their populace is. Very vexing.