Sunday, December 19, 2010

So, how's that War on Christmas going?


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Yeah, that's what I thought.

More uses of "Merry Christmas" than ever. Tiny uptick of "Happy Holidays," bringing it to 1950s levels. "Season's Greetings" is out of the running.

Note that the Ngram Viewer has its oddities--seems to make a difference whether you use capital letters or not. And "Season's Greetings," with apostrophe, wasn't coming up at all. Make of this what you will.

(Go to Friday's TVB entry for more on the Ngram Viewer, the fad that's sweeping the nation. I hope it gives the nation a thorough dusting, too.)

4 comments:

Grammarian@mindspring.com said...

It's case-sensitive. It says so just above where you put in the words. I don't know why; it would seem to make more sense not to be, or at least to have the option not to be. But it is.

Jim Donahue said...

D'oh!

Seven Star Hand said...

Interesting analysis. One thing the stats can't show though is the fact that all the hoopla about a War on Christmas has just backfired, big time.

Seven Star Hand Unveils Death Blow in War on Christmas

Alas, certain lies have a troubling habit of eventually returning to haunt you, at precisely the worst possible time...

JohnnyB said...

Those who believe there is a war on Christmas and that prohibiting Nativity scenes on public property denied them their right to worship are not literate enough to know what is in books. They know only what they hear at the mall; if one clerk wishes them a happy holy day - oops, holiday - they go into a rage and shut down so they don't hear anything else.