MERRY Christmas is something lots of us will be saying to each other today as we sit down to open our presents and enjoy a festive feast.

But, it has been revealed, the festive phrase was first used by the Bishop of Hereford in the 16th century.

Experts have discovered Bishop Charles Booth wrote a letter to a colleague in 1520, saying he hoped he would be "merry this Christmas".

The now-famous phrase appeared 14 years before it was previously thought the words were first used in Britain.

The letter was unearthed as staff at Hereford Cathedral researched festive facts this December.

Experts have discovered Bishop Charles Booth wrote a letter to a colleague in 1520, saying he hoped he would be merry this Christmas. Picture: SWNS

Experts have discovered Bishop Charles Booth wrote a letter to a colleague in 1520, saying he hoped he would be "merry this Christmas". Picture: SWNS

Elizabeth Semper O'Keefe, archivist at the cathedral, said: "Maybe we were trendsetters?

“The greeting ‘Merry Christmas’ was believed to date back to at least 1534.”

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".

Ms O’Keefe said the letter more than a decade earlier from Bishop Booth - who died in 1535 - "does seem to be an unknown fact".

In his letter to one of the canon's at the cathedral, he says: "I pray God you may be in all good charity and merry this Christmas."

The letter was found as the cathedral's library and archives team researched for their Christmas Capers event.

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