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The term first became popular in early 1900s, when the Navy would hold weekly shows called "Happy Hours" to entertain sailors at sea, according to writes Peter Jensen Brown, a cultural history blogger.
When Prohibition rolled around in the 1920s, the term was then associated with alcohol, with people meeting at speakeasies to get a drink, according to Seattle Magazine. After Prohibition was lifted, "Happy Hours" began to look as they do today, with people gathering at bars and restaurants for a drink.