"God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" was first published in England in 1833, when it appeared in Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern, a collection of seasonal carols gathered by William B. Sandys, though its incipit was in William Hone's "List of Christmas carols now annually printed" in Ancient Mysteries Described, 1823. The author is unknown. This is the carol of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, 1843: "...at the first sound of 'God bless you merry, gentlemen! May nothing you dismay!' Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action, that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost." The comma after "merry" shows that the carol is not an address to "merry gentlemen," but rather is a prayer for the Deity to provide the audience "rest" with high spirit. And so uncle mikey bids you Merry Christmas!
