Why has the generic greeting to someone who has his/her birthday become "Happy Birthday"? Why can't it be "Merry Birthday" or "Jovial Birthday"? Actually, quite frankly, I don't like that phrase just 'cause grammatically speaking, the noun "Birthday" is the one that is "Happy", not necessarily the person celebrating it. Although it could be potentially saying that the person should have a day of happiness because it is his/her date of birth. That brings me to a point.
Does a person only have to have a day of happiness on his/her date of birth, or any holiday that has "Merry" or "Happy" in the greeting? Does a person have the right to be happy only on his/her birthday? Why can't any other random day be a day for a person to be encouraged to be happy?
