Seasons Greetings: How to say ‘Merry Christmas’ in 20 global languages
More than 2 billion people celebrate Christmas, making it one of the biggest holidays in the world.
While traditions may differ from culture to culture, wishing someone a Merry Christmas is something that you can easily communicate across all languages.
So, if you’re wanting to impress your friends or family this Christmas, or you’re even lucky enough to be spending Christmas abroad, the team at Preply have revealed how to say Merry Christmas in 20 languages from around the world.
| Language | Translation | How to pronounce |
| Spanish | Feliz Navidad | Feliz Navidad |
| French | Joyeux Noël | Joyeux Noël |
| German | Frohe Weihnachten | Frohe Weihnachten |
| Italian | Buon Natale | Buon Natale |
| Swedish | God jul | God jul |
| Norwegian | God jul | God jul |
| Chinese | 聖誕快樂 | Shèngdàn jié kuàilè |
| Japanese | メリークリスマス | Merīkurisumasu |
| Korean | 메리 크리스마스 | meli keuliseumaseu |
| Croatian | sretan Božić | sretan Božić |
| Greek | Χαρούμενα Χριστούγεννα | Kalá Christoúgenna |
| Polish | Wesołych Świąt! | Wesołych Świąt! |
| Portuguese | Feliz Natal | Feliz Natal |
| Romanian | Crăciun fericit | Crăciun fericit |
| Russian | Счастливого Рождества! | Schastlivogo Rozhdestva! |
| Ukrainian | щасливого Різдва | Shchaslyvoho Rizdva |
| Finnish | Hauskaa joulua | Hauskaa joulua |
| Danish | Glædelig Jul | Glædelig Jul |
| Dutch | Vrolijk Kerstfeest | Vrolijk Kerstfeest |
| Czech | Veselé Vánoce | Veselé Vánoce |
Credit: Preply
Christmas Facts from Around the World:
- In France, Father Christmas is called Père Noël. In the eastern region of France, he is accompanied by Le Pere Fouettard, a man dressed in black.
- In Spain, many people go to Midnight Mass or ‘La Misa Del Gallo’ (The Mass of the Rooster). It is called this because a rooster is said to have crowed the night that Jesus was born.
- Christmas Eve is the main day when Germans exchange presents with their families.
- In Italy, On Christmas Eve it’s common for red meat to be excluded from any food prepared and eaten. This is often exchanged for a light seafood meal.
- In Mexico, presents might also be brought by ‘El Niñito Dios’ (baby Jesus) or Santo Clós (Santa Claus)
- A traditional Norwegian Christmas Tree decoration are paper baskets called ‘Julekurver’ which are made in the shape of a heart.
- In New Zealand and Australia, Christmas comes in the middle of the summer holidays. Many people like to spend time at the beach for the holiday.
