Hereford Cathedral claims earliest use of Merry Christmas

Archivist Elizabeth Semper O'Keefe said the letter was written 14 years before what was thought to be the earliest use of the phrase

The earliest use of the words Merry Christmas may have been by a Bishop of Hereford in the 16th Century, new research claims.

Charles Booth wrote a letter in 1520 and hoped a colleague would be "merry this Christmas".

Elizabeth Semper O'Keefe, archivist at Hereford Cathedral, said the reference was 14 years before what was thought to be the earliest use of the words.

She added: "Maybe we were trendsetters?"

The letter was unearthed as staff at the cathedral researched festive facts about the site for an event on Monday.

The greeting Merry Christmas was believed to date back to at least 1534, Ms O'Keefe said.

Bishop Charles Booth wrote the letter in 1520, the cathedral said

In a letter to Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII's chief minister, Bishop John Fisher of Rochester wrote: "And this our Lord God send you a merry Christmas".

She said the letter from Bishop Booth, 14 years before, "does seem to be an unknown fact".

His letter to one of the canon's at the cathedral opens with the phrase: "I pray God you may be in all good charity and merry this Christmas."

The information was found as the cathedral's library and archives team researched for their Christmas Capers event from 19:00 GMT on Monday.

Among the other facts will be the Puritans' attitudes to Christmas in Hereford in the 17th Century and the heating of chestnuts for choir boys in the 1980s, Ms O'Keefe said.