How to say happy holidays & Merry Christmas in 106 languages
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When December rolls around, many of us picture pristine white snow, beautifully decorated Christmas trees, and those iconic Coca-Cola ads with Santa Claus. However, it's important to remember that not every country experiences the same wintry scene.
Still, December is a special time for most cultures, each with its unique traditions and celebrations. For many, December is synonymous with Christmas. But beyond Christmas, December is also the time to celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and an array of other holidays.
Among this diversity, learning to say Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas in different languages goes beyond mere politeness. It’s a bridge that connects us with our family or friends across the world and a way for us to understand a piece of their culture a little bit better. It’s also a way for us to share the love - the love for the world, for others, for the planet, for everything.
So, in this article, we share with you how to wish someone a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays in over 100 languages.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays in different languages
Even though many people don’t celebrate Christmas, there are other important holidays that are also celebrated in December.
Holidays such as Hannukah, Kwanzaa, and Ōmisoka are all beautiful holidays celebrated by people around the world. And as with most celebrations, many of the holidays celebrated in December involve a family dinner, drinks, festive songs, and dancing.
Here’s how to wish someone a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays - depending on what they’re celebrating.
| Language | Merry Christmas | Happy Holidays |
|---|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Geseënde Kersfees | Geseënde vakansies |
| Albanian | Gëzuar Krishtlindjet | Gëzuar festat |
| Amharic | መልካም ገና (melikami gena) | መልካም በዓል (melikami be‘ali) |
| Arabic | عيد ميلاد مجيد (eid milad majid) | اجازة سعيدة (ajazat saeida) |
| Armenian | Շնորհավոր Սուրբ Ծնունդ (Shnorhavor Surb Tsnund) | Ուրախ արձակուրդ (Urakh ardzakurd) |
| Aymara | Jallall nawirara | Kusisiña urunaka |
| Azerbaijani | Milad bayramınız mübarək | Bayramınız mübarək |
| Basque | Eguberri on | Jai zoriontsuak |
| Bengali | শুভ বড়দিন (Śubha baṛadina) | শুভ ছুটির দিন (Śubha chuṭira dina) |
| Bosnian | Sretan Božić | Sretni praznici |
| Bulgarian | Весела Коледа (Vesela Koleda) | Весели празници (Veseli praznitsi) |
| Cantonese | 聖誕快樂 | 节日快乐 (jit jat faai lok) |
| Catalan | Bon Nadal | Bones festes |
| Cebuano | Maayong Pasko | Marau na Vakarau |
| Chichewa | Khrisimasi yabwino | Maholide abwino |
| Corsican | Bon natale | Bone vacanze |
| Croatian | Sretan Božić | Sretni blagdani |
| Czech | Veselé Vánoce | Šťastné svátky |
| Danish | Glædelig jul | God ferie |
| Dutch | Vrolijk Kerstfeest | Prettige Feestdagen |
| English | Merry Chrismas | Happy holidays |
| Estonian | Häid jõule | Häid pühi |
| Ewe | Blunya nawò | Dzidzɔkpɔkpɔ na ŋkekenyuiwo |
| Farsi (Persian) | کریسمس مبارک | تعطیلات شاد |
| Fijian | Marau ni Siganisucu | Marau na Vakarau |
| Filipino | Maligayang Pasko | Maligayang bakasyon |
| Finnish | Hyvää joulua | Hyvää lomaa |
| French | Joyeaux Noël | Joyeuses fêtes |
| Gaelic (Irish) | Nollaig Shona | Laethanta saoire sona |
| Galician | Bo Nadal | Felices vacacións |
| Georgian | შობას გილოცავთ (shobas gilotsavt) | ბედნიერი დღესასწაულები (bednieri dghesasts’aulebi) |
| German | Fröhe Weihnachten | Schöne Ferien |
| Greek | καλά Χριστούγεννα (kalá Christoúgenna) | Καλές διακοπές (Kalés diakopés) |
| Guarani | Vy'apavẽ tupãra'ýre | Vy'apavê arete rehegua |
| Haitian Creole | Jwaye Nwel | Bòn fèt |
| Hawaiian | Mele kalikimaka | Hauʻoli lā hoʻomaha |
| Hebrew | חג מולד שמח | חג שמח |
| Hindi | क्रिसमस की बधाई (krisamas kee badhaee) | छुट्टियों की शुभकामनाएं (chhuttiyon kee shubhakaamanaen) |
| Hmong | Zoo siab heev Christmas | Zoo siab hnub so |
| Hungarian | Boldog Karácsonyt | Kellemes Ünnepeket |
| Icelandic | Gleðileg jól | Gleðilega hátíð |
| Igbo | Ezi ekeresimesi | Ezumike obi ụtọ |
| Ilocano | Naragsak a paskua | Naragsak a piesta |
| Indonesian | Selamat natal | Selamat berlibur |
| Italian | Buon Natale | Buone vacanze |
| Japanese | メリークリスマス (Merīkurisumasu) | 楽しい休暇をお過ごしください (Tanoshī kyūka o o sugoshi kudasai) |
| Kazakh | Рождество құтты болсын (Rojdestvo quttı bolsın) | мерекелеріңіз құтты болсын (merekeleriñiz quttı bolsın) |
| Khmer | រីករាយថ្ងៃបុណ្យណូអែល (rikreay thngai bony nauel) | រីករាយថ្ងៃឈប់សម្រាក (rikreay thngai chhbsamreak) |
| Kinyarwanda | Noheri nziza | Iminsi mikuru myiza |
| Korean | 메리 크리스마스 (meli keuliseumaseu) | 즐거운 휴일 보내세요 (jeulgeoun hyuil bonaeseyo) |
| Kurdish | Kirîstmas piroz be | Cejnên pîroz |
| Lao | ສຸກສັນວັນຄຣິສມາດ (suksanvan khris mad) | ສຸກສັນວັນພັກຜ່ອນ (suksanvan phakphon) |
| Latin | Felicem natalem Christi | Felices fiestas |
| Latvian | Priecīgus Ziemassvētkus | Priecīgas brīvdienas |
| Lithuanian | Linksmų Kalėdų | Linksmų švenčių |
| Luxembourgish | Schéi Chrëschtdeeg | Schéin Vakanz |
| Macedonian | среќен Божиќ (sreḱen Božiḱ) | среќни празници (sreḱni praznici) |
| Malagasy | tratry ny krismasy | Mirary fety sambatra |
| Malay | Selamat Hari Natal | Selamat bercuti |
| Maltese | il-Milied it-tajjeb | il-festi t-tajba |
| Mandarin | 圣诞节快乐 (Shèngdàn jié kuàilè) | 节日快乐 (Jiérì kuàilè) |
| Maori | Meri Kirihimete | Nga hararei koa |
| Mongolian | Зул сарын баярын мэнд хүргэе (Zul saryn bayaryn mend khürgeye) | баярын мэнд (bayaryn mend) |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ပျော်ရွှင်သောခရစ္စမတ်ဖြစ်ပါစေ (pyawshwinsaw hkarahchcamaat hpyitparhcay) | ပျော်ရွှင်ဖွယ်အားလပ်ရက်များ (pyawshwinhpwal aarrlautraat myarr) |
| Nahuatl | Cualli netlācatilizpan | Cualli tlamahcēhualmeh |
| Navajo | Yá'át'ééh Késhmish | Ya'at'eeh keshmish naa |
| Nepali | मेरी क्रिसमस (Mērī krisamasa) | शुभ बिदाहरू (Śubha bidāharū) |
| Norwegian | God jul | Glade høytider |
| Pashto | کرسمس مو مبارک | خوشحاله رخصتۍ |
| Polish | Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia | Wesołych świąt |
| Portuguese | Feliz Natal | Boas festas |
| Punjabi | ਮੇਰੀ ਕਰਿਸਮਸ (Mērī karisamasa) | ਛੁੱਟੀਆਂ ਮੁਬਾਰਕ (Chuṭī'āṁ mubāraka) |
| Quechua | Navidadpi kusikuy | Kusisqa raymikuna |
| Romanian | Crăciun fericit | Sărbători fericite |
| Russian | С Рождеством (S Rozhdestvom) | Счастливых праздников (Schastlivykh prazdnikov) |
| Samoan | Manuia le kirisimasi | Manuia aso malolo |
| Sepedi | Krisemose ye botse | Maikhutšo a thabilego |
| Serbian | срећан Божић (srećan Božić) | срећни празници (srećni praznici) |
| Sesotho | Kereseme e monate | Matsatsi a phomolo a monate |
| Slovak | Veselé Vianoce | Šťastné prázdniny |
| Slovenian | Vesel božič | Vesele praznike |
| Somali | Christmas-ka wanaagsan | Fasax wanagsan |
| Spanish | Feliz Navidad | Felices fiestas |
| Swahili | Krismasi Njema | Likizo njema |
| Swedish | God Jul | Trevlig helg |
| Tagalog | Maligayang Pasko | Maligayang Pista |
| Taiwanese | 聖誕節快樂 (sèng-tàn-chat/chiat khòai-lo̍k) | 歡樂假期 (huān lè jià qī) |
| Tamil | கிறிஸ்துமஸ் வாழ்த்துக்கள் (Kiṟistumas vāḻttukkaḷ) | மகிழ்ச்சியான விடுமுறை நாட்கள் (Makiḻcciyāṉa viṭumuṟai nāṭkaḷ) |
| Thai | สุขสันต์วันคริสต์มาส (S̄uk̄hs̄ạnt̒ wạn khris̄t̒mās̄) | สุขสันต์วันหยุด (S̄uk̄hs̄ạnt̒ wạn h̄yud) |
| Tibetan | དགའ་ལྡན་དུས་ཆེན་ལ་སྨོན་འདེབས། | ལོ་གསར་བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས (lo gsar bkrashis bdelegs) |
| Tongan | Kilisimasi Fiefia | Ofa atu ki he Katoanga |
| Turkish | Mutlu Noeller | Mutlu tatiller |
| Ukrainian | щасливого Різдва (shchaslyvoho Rizdva) | щасливих свят (shchaslyvykh svyat) |
| Urdu | میری کرسمس | خوش چھٹیاں |
| Uzbek | Rojdestvo muborak | Bayramlar bilan |
| Vietnamese | Giáng sinh vui vẻ | Ngày nghỉ vui vẻ |
| Welsh | Nadolig Llawen | Gwyliau hapus |
| Xhosa | Ikrismesi emnandi | Iholide ezimnandi |
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays in constructed languages
Did you know that there are 312 constructed languages in the world? While we’ve never heard about 99% of them (and you probably haven’t either), there are a couple that have been gaining in popularity over the recent years.
Languages such as Esperanto, Interlingua, and Lingua Franca Nova were constructed with one purpose: to unify similar-sounding languages into a universal one. For instance, interlingua aims to unify Latin languages like Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian, and Esperanto was constructed based on the roots of the main European languages.
So, here’s how to say Merry Christmas in those three constructed languages, just in case you’d like to impress your friends, family, or social media followers by wishing them Happy Holidays in Esperanto.
| Constructed language | Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays |
|---|---|
| Esperanto | Feliĉan Kristnaskon |
| Interlingua | Felice Natal |
| Lingua Franca Nova | Bon natal |
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays in fantasy languages
If you’ve read our article on fictional languages, you’re already familiar with the languages in the table below. These languages were created to complement the fantasy worlds portrayed in the Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and Star Trek.
From what we know, Christmas doesn’t exist in most of these fantasy worlds. For this reason, some translations aren’t literal. For example, “biare biarves” means “happy celebration” rather than “happy holidays” or “merry Christmas.” It has to suffice.
| Fantasy language | Movie/TV show | Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays |
|---|---|---|
| Dothraki | Game of Thrones | Ajjalani neaka vezhvena |
| Valyrian | Game of Thrones | Biare biarves |
| Klingon | Star Trek | Qismas Botivjaj |
| Quenya (Elvish) | The Lord of the Rings | Nai lye hiruva airea amanar |
| Na’vi | Avatar | Ayftxozä Lefpom |
The most memorable quotes from Holiday-themed movies
There’s nothing cozier than watching a Christmas-themed movie on the sofa in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate in hand and a blanket (or a cat) on your knees. Movie classics such as Home Alone or The Grinch have become part of the Christmas tradition in many countries around the world.
At this point, most of us can’t imagine Christmas without watching at least one cheesy Christmas romantic comedy. Seriously, who hasn’t seen The Holiday at least twice?
Here are some of the most memorable quotes from your favorite Christmas movies.
| Holiday quote | Movie | Quoted by |
|---|---|---|
| "You have such a pretty face. You should be on a Christmas card." | Elf | Buddy |
| “No one should be alone on Christmas.” | How The Grinch Stole Christmas | Cindy Lou Who |
| “Now you listen to me, young lady! Even if we’re horribly mangled, there’ll be no sad faces on Christmas.” | How The Grinch Stole Christmas | The Grinch |
| "Keep the change, ya filthy animal." | Home Alone | Gangster Johnny |
| “Will you please tell Santa that instead of presents this year, I just want my family back.” | Home Alone | Kevin McCallister |
| "Just because I cannot see it, doesn't mean I can't believe it!" | The Nightmare Before Christmas | Jack Skellington |
| "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings." | It’s a Wonderful Life | Zuzu Bailey |
| “At Christmas, you tell the truth.” | Love Actually | Mark |
| “I realized that Christmas is the time to be with the people you love.” | Love Actually | Billy Mack |
| "Christmas isn't just a day. It's a frame of mind." | Miracle on 34th | Kris Kringle |
| "I believe, I believe, it's silly, but I believe." | Miracle on 34th | Susan Walker |
| "Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart." | The Polar Express | Santa Claus |
| "Seeing is believing, but, sometimes, the most real things in the world are the things we can't see." | The Polar Express | The Conductor |
| "It's Christmas Eve, and we are going to celebrate being young and being alive." | The Holiday | Miles Dumont |
| "I'm looking for corny in my life." | The Holiday | Iris Simpkins |
| “It’s Christmas Eve. It’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more.” | Scrooged | Frank Cross |
| “If you’re worried and you can’t sleep, count your blessings instead of sheep. Then you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings.” | White Christmas | Bob Wallace |
| “You can mess with a lot of things. But you can’t mess with kids on Christmas.” | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | Kevin McCallister |
| “Yes! Yes, I do! I like Christmas! I love Christmas! | A Christmas Carol | Ebenezer Scrooge |
| "But sir, Christmas is a time for giving... a time to be with one’s family.” | A Christmas Carol | Bob Cratchit |
Christmas songs from around the world
Movies are one thing. But Christmas songs are the spirit of the holiday season. As soon as December is around the corner, all radio stations start to blast Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” at least three times per hour.
While in some countries Christmas isn’t celebrated, every holiday comes with its special music. Songs that we all hum under our noses while waiting for the main celebration and those we sing with our families while gathered at the holiday dinner.
Music truly is the soul of celebration. So, here are some of the most popular Holiday songs around the world.
Spanish
Polish
French
German
Italian
- A NATALE PUOI - CANZONI DI NATALE
- Tu scendi dalle stelle - Canzoni natalizie con testo (Christmas music with lyrics)
Japanese
- SEKAI NO OWARI「silent」
- 【Kagamine Len Append】The First Christmas "最初のクリスマス" 【VOCALOIDカバー】 English Subtitles
This one is literally my favorite one and nothing tops it.
Feliz Navidad!
Phew! We’ve arrived at the end of this list. Now, you’re ready to wish a merry Christmas or happy holidays to anyone, regardless of what their native language is.
You may also want to find different ways to say Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays in English to be better prepared for when it’s time to send out those holiday wishes to anyone and everyone, from your mom to your boss.
And if you’ve ever thought of celebrating the December holidays abroad, you’re now a tiny bit more prepared to do that. If you’re planning a trip abroad, you might also want to learn how to say hello and how to say goodbye in different languages.
And as always, remember to bookmark and check back on our language learning blog, full of fun and free language lessons for everyone.
