Christmas is one of the seasonal holidays that people around the world look forward to celebrating, even with just an exchange of a Merry Christmas in 100 different languages.
Christmas is a religious tradition and a commercial and cultural event celebrated worldwide. It teems with different religious and secular practices and traditions. For Christians the world over, Christmas day is the anniversary of Jesus’ birth. For many people, it is customary to decorate the home for the holidays, putting up Christmas lights, decorating their Christmas trees, attending mass and preparing special meals to share with family and friends. It is considered an expensive holiday, as for many people, it also means buying and exchanging gifts. In the United States, Christmas Day or December 25 is a federal holiday that started in 1870.
A Very Old Holiday
Mid-winter is traditionally a time to celebrate in many cultures worldwide. There was already a celebration of light and birth when winter solstice arrives in Europe centuries before the birth of Jesus.
The day of the celebration varies. In Scandinavia for example, the yuletide season starts on December 21 for the Norse and it goes on until January. They rejoice because the sun has returned to their region, and they celebrate it with the father-son tandem bringing large logs home and setting them on fire. The people hold the feast until all the logs they set on fire have burned out. This could take nearly two weeks. For the Norse, each spark from the burning logs represents a calf or pig that will be born within the new year.
In many areas in Europe, the end of December is the right time to hold a celebration. It is the time when the slaughtering of cattle is performed so owners do not have to feed them. Therefore, their supply of fresh meat only comes during this time. And what else should be included in a celebration? Beer and wine, of course! And these favorite drinks are fully fermented and ready to be consumed at the end of the year.
Oden, a pagan god, is honored in Germany in mid-winter. The Germans fear Oden due to their belief that he makes flights in the evening to observe the people so he can decide who should perish or prosper. Thus, the people elect to stay inside their homes during this period.
The practices and traditions of celebrating Christmas may vary between cultures, but people around the world have one thing in common – sending Christmas greetings and wishing family, friends, acquaintances and even people they do know “Merry Christmas!” in their own language. We have collected more than 100 ways to say Merry Christmas, so you can greet friends, especially those you have met online, in the language they truly understand.
Merry Christmas (Happy New Year) Greeting in Different Languages
- Gézuar Krishlindjet Vitin e Ri! (Albanian)
- Geseënde Kerfees (Afrikaans)
- Rehus-Beal-Ledeats (African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja)
- Gozhqq Keshmish (Apache)
- Milad Majid (Arabic)
- Feliz Navidad (Argentine)
- Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand (Armenian)
- Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun (Azeri)
- Zorionak eta Urte Berri On! (Basque)
- Winshuyu sa Svyatkami i z Novym godam! (Belorussian)
- Vesele Vanoce (Bohemian)
- Feliz Natal (Brazilian)
- Shubho borodin (Bengali)
- Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat (Breton)
- Tchestita Koleda or Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo (Bulgarian)
- Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou! (Catalan)
- Danistayohihv & Aliheli’sdi Itse Udetiyvsadisv (Cherokee)
- Feliz Navidad (Spanish – Chile)
- Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun (Cantonese)
- Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan (Mandarin)
- Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo (Columbia)
- Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth (Cornish)
- Bon Natale e Bon capu d’ annu (Corsican)
- Sretan Bozic (Croatian)
- Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok (Czech)
- Glædelig Jul (Danish)
- Ni ti Burunya Chou & Mi ti yuun (Dagbani)
- Miet puou yan dhiedh Banyda tene Yin (Dinka)
- Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! (Dutch)
- Colo sana wintom tiebeen (Egyptian)
- Merry Christmas (English)
- Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo! Inupik (Eskimo)
- Ruumsaid juulup|hi (Estonian)
- Melkin Yelidet Beaal Amharic (Ethiopian)
- Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad (Farsi)
- Me Nomuni na marau ni siga ni sucu dei na yabaki vou (Fijian)
- Maligayang Pasko! (Filipino)
- Hyvaa joulua (Finnish)
- Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar (Flemish)
- Joyeux Noel (French)
- Mangamgam Bawa a dawun sikua diaw amin (Gaddang)
- Nollaig chridheil huibh (Gaelic)
- Bo nada (Galician)
- Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr! (Gaelic)
- Gilotsavt Krist’es Shobas & Gilosavt akhal ts’els (Georgian)
- Froehliche Weihnachten (German)
- Kala Christouyenna! (Greek)
- Juullimi Pilluaritsi! (Greenlandic)
- Natal ni shub kaamnao & Saal Mubarak (Gujarati)
- Mele Kalikimak (Hawaiian)
- Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova (Hebrew)
- Baradin ki shubh kamnaaye (Hindi)
- Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket (Hungarian)
- Gledileg Jol (Icelandic)
- Ekelere m gi maka Keresimesi na ubochi izizi afo ozo (Igbo)
- Selamat Hari Natal (Indonesian)
- Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah (Iraqi)
- Nollaig Shona Dhuit / Nodlaig mhaith chugnat (Irish)
- Buone Feste Natalizie (Italian)
- Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto (Japanese)
- Sugeng Natal lan warsa enggal (Javanese)
- Sung Tan Chuk Ha (Korean)
- Seva piroz sahibe u sersala te piroz be (Kurdish)
- Souksan van Christmas (Lao)
- Natale hilare et Annum Faustum! (Latin)
- Prieci’gus Ziemsve’tkus un Laimi’gu Jauno Gadu! (Latvian)
- Linksmu Kaledu (Lithuanian)
- Streken Bozhik (Macedonian)
- Arahaba tratry ny Krismasy (Malagasy)
- Selamat Hari Natal Bahasa (Malaysia)
- Nixtieklek Milied tajjeb u is-sena t-tabja! (Maltese)
- Meri Kirihimete (Maori)
- Zul saryn bolon shine ony mend devshuulye (Marathi)
- Merry Keshmish (Navajo)
- God Jul / Gledelig Jul (Norwegian)
- Niibaa’ anami’egiizhigad & Aabita Biboon (Ojibwe)
- En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr! (Pennsylvania German)
- Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo (Spanish – Peru)
- Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia (Polish)
- Feliz Natal (Portuguese)
- Nave sal di mubaraka (Punjabi)
- Bachtalo krecunu Thaj Bachtalo Nevo Bers (Romani)
- Craciun Fericit (Romanian)
- Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom (Russian)
- La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou (Samoan)
- Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou (Sardinian)
- Hristos se rodi (Serbian)
- Sretan Bozic / Vesele vianoce (Slovakian)
- Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa (Singhalese)
- Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok (Slovak)
- Feliz Navidad (Spanish)
- Wilujeng Natal Sareng Warsa Enggal (Sudanese)
- God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År (Swedish)
- Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal (Tamil)
- Sawadee Pee Mai / Souksan wan Christmas (Thai)
- Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun (Turkish)
- Naya Saal Mubarak Ho (Urdu)
- Chuc Mung Giang Sinh (Vietnamese)
- Nadolig Llawen (Welsh)
- Cestitamo Bozic (Yugoslavian)
20 More Ways to Say Merry Christmas in Different Languages
- E gueti Wnchte & E glecklichs Nej Johr! (Alsatian)
- I’D Miilad Said ous Sana Saida (Arabic)
- Aba satho niw jari da’wisida bon (Arawak)
- Mbung Mbung Krismie & Mbung Mbung Ngouh Suiie (Bandang)
- Maugmang Capascuhan asin Masaganang Ba-gong Taon! (Bicolano)
- Mitho Makosi Kesikansi (Cree)
- Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito (Choctaw)
- Zalig Kerstfeast (Dutch)
- Gajan Kristnaskon (Esperanto)
- Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar! (Faroese)
- Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier! (Frisian)
- Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara! (Hausa)
- Heughliche Winachten un ‘n moi Nijaar (Low Saxon)
- Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa (Manx)
- Shub Naya Varsh (Marathi)
- Pulit nadal e bona annado (Occitan)
- Buorrit Juovllat (Sámi)
- Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech! (Trukese)
- E ku odun, e ku iye’dun! (Yoruba)
- Bon Pasco (Papiamento)
Fascinating Facts and Trivia About Christmas
All those who believe in Christmas eagerly await its arrival. While many only look forward to shopping or receiving gifts, Christmas teems with several facts and trivia. Here are some of them.
1. Santa Claus
Children often send letters to Father Christmas or Santa Claus to wish for something they dearly want to receive as a Christmas present. Did you know that Santa Claus maintains two addresses? One address is in the North Pole while the other one is in Edinburgh. If the letters are addressed to Snowland or Toyland, the letters are sent to Edinburgh. When the address is The North Pole, the letters are sent to the place where Santa Claus has a post office.
Do you still remember the names of Santa’s reindeers? The most popular is Rudolph, but there are also Blitzen, Donner (Donder), Cupid, Comet, Dancer, Dasher, Vixen and Prancer.
2. Christmas Day
It was only in 440 AD that Christ’s birthday was celebrated on December 25.
England is known for its rainy days. While most of Europe enjoys a white Christmas, England seldom experiences it. Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland have more chances of having a white Christmas than England. According to the London’s Meteorological Office, snow only fell in England on Christmas Day in 1938 and in 1976.
3. Christmas Trees
The tradition of having Christmas trees was started by Germany in the 16th century. The German settlers in Pennsylvania introduced the Christmas trees to the United States in the 19th century. Do you know what happens to the unsold Christmas trees in the U.S. today?
The trees are recycled. Some are chopped, ground, and used as feed for animals and plants. The wood chips become mulch.
In some areas in the U.S., the leftover Christmas trees are sent to the coastal areas where they are tied together and staked into the beaches as sand traps. In time, the areas will develop sand dunes, which help the coastal areas have a first line of defense when tropical storms hit.
4. Electric Christmas Lights
The string of Christmas lights was invented by an American telephone operator in 1895. His name was Ralph Morris.
5. Interesting Christmas Trivia
- Christmas is actually an Old English word and short for Christ’s Mass.
- The most famous ballet for Christmas is The Nutcracker.
- The popular Christmas song, Jingle Bells, was originally a song composed for Thanksgiving.
- The poinsettia, which became a symbolic Christmas flower, came from Mexico. It was discovered by Joel Roberts Poinsett and the plant was named after him. Did you know that the red foliage often thought of as flowers, are actually leaves? They are created when the plant is deprived of light for about five days. They will later need strong light to intensify their colors. The actual flowers of the poinsettia are the yellow colored buds in the middle of the leaf clusters.
- Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in six weeks. That was in 1843.
- Alabama was the first state to officially recognize Christmas as a holiday.
- June 26, 1870 was the day America made Christmas a national holiday.
Christmas is truly fascinating and almost magical, with the number of things you can learn throughout its history. Continue to look forward to Christmas and do not forget that a sincere and warm “Merry Christmas” greeting can be enough to bring cheer to someone.
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Do not wait for Christmas Day to greet your friends around the world. Send them Christmas greetings in their own language. Day Translations is here to help. Our translators are located in different countries around the world. All of them are native speakers and we can connect you to any one of them easily. Day Translations work with more than 100 languages and we offer full suite of language services. You can call us at 1-800-969-6853 or send us an email at Contact us anytime, anywhere you are. We are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year.
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