As the holiday season approaches, it’s the perfect time to embrace the diverse cultures that make our world so vibrant. One way to do that is by saying Merry Christmas in different languages.
Merry Christmas in Different Languages
Explore this list of merry Christmas in different languages from around the globe, along with their phonetic pronunciations, and impress your friends and family with your multicultural holiday greetings!
You might also want to checkout out these 150 Christmas Writing Activities.
How to Say Merry Christmas in Different Languages
It’s fun to learn the way other people groups say Merry Christmas, apart from your native language.
- How to Say Merry Christmas in English – Merry Christmas (meh-ree kriss-muhs)
- How to Say Merry Christmas in Spanish – ¡Feliz Navidad! (feh-lees nah-vee-dahd) – sound like a familiar Christmas carol?
- How to Say Merry Christmas in French – Joyeux Noël (zhwah-yuh noh-EL)
- How to Say Merry Christmas in German – Frohe Weihnachten (froh-uh vy-nahk-ten)
- How to Say Merry Christmas in Italian – Buon Natale (bwon nah-TAH-leh)
How to Say Merry Christmas Throughout Europe
Discover how European languages say Merry Christmas with an accurate translation.
- Portuguese – Feliz Natal (feh-LEES nah-TAHL)
- Dutch – Vrolijk Kerstfeest (vroy-lik kherst-fest)
- Swedish – God Jul (good yool)
- Danish – Glædelig Jul (gleh-deh-lee yool)
- Norwegian – God Jul (good yool)
How to Say Merry Christmas Throughout Asia
These Christmas greetings used in Asia are different ways to say Merry Christmas.
- Mandarin Chinese – 圣诞快乐 (sheng-dan kuai-le)
- Japanese – メリークリスマス (Meh-ree koo-riss-mahss)
- Korean – 메리 크리스마스 (meh-ri keu-ri-seu-ma-seu)
- Hindi – क्रिसमस की शुभकामनाएँ (christmas kee shubh-kaa-ma-naa-en)
- Thai – สุขสันต์วันคริสต์มาส (sook-san wan kris-mas)
Explore different traditions for celebrating Christmas day in other coutries throughout the world using our Christmas Around the World Unit Study. If you’d like to take a a bit farther, you can take a look at different Christmas around the world activities.
How to Say Merry Christmas Throughout Africa
If you are doing some language learning at home, you can have fun learning how to say Merry Christmas in different languages throughout Africa.
- Swahili – Krismasi Njema (kree-smah-see nyeh-mah)
- Zulu – Ukhisimusi omuhle (oo-kee-SEE-moo-see oh-moo-LEH)
- Afrikaans – Geseënde Kersfees (heh-sehn-dah kers-fays)
- Amharic – መልካም ገና (mel-uh-kam guh-na)
- Hausa – Barka Da Kirsimatikuma (bar-kah dah keer-see-mah-tee-koo-mah)
How to Say Merry Christmas Throughout the Middle East
- Arabic – عيد ميلاد مجيد (eed meelad meh-jeed)
- Hebrew – חג מולד שמח (khag mo-led sa-mey-akh)
- Turkish – İyi Noeller (ee-yee no-el-ler)
- Persian – کریسمس مبارک (krees-mas mo-baa-rak)
- Kurdish – Kirîsma we pîroz be (kee-rish-ma way pee-ros beh)
How to Say Merry Christmas Throughout Oceania
- Maori – Meri Kirihimete (mehr-ee kee-ree-hee-meh-teh)
- Samoan – Manuia le Kerisimasi (mah-noo-ee-ah leh keh-ree-see-mah-see)
- Fijian – Marau na Kerisimasi (mah-row nah keh-ree-see-mah-see)
- Tongan – Kilisimasi Fiefia (kee-lee-see-mah-see fee-eh-fee-ah)
- Hawaiian – Mele Kalikimaka (meh-leh kah-lee-kee-mah-kah)
How to Say Merry Christmas Throughout North America
- Canadian French – Joyeux Noël (zhwah-yuh noh-EL)
- Inuktitut – ᑐᒃᑐᓐ ᓂᕐᕕᒥᐊᖅᑐᖅ (too-ktun neer-vee-mee-aak-tooq)
- Navajo – Yá’át’ééh Késhmish (yah-ah-tayh kesh-mish)
- Spanish (Mexico) – ¡Feliz Navidad! (feh-lees nah-vee-dahd)
How to Say Merry Christmas Throughout South America
Learn how to say Merry Christmas in these Spanish-speaking countries.
- Portuguese (Brazil) – Feliz Natal (feh-LEES nah-TAHL)
- Spanish (Argentina) – ¡Feliz Navidad! (feh-lees nah-vee-dahd)
- Quechua (Peru) – Sumaq Q’asampay (soo-mahk kah-sahm-pai)
- Guarani (Paraguay) – Ñandejára Ropotýgui (nyahn-deh-HAH-rah roh-poh-TEE-gee)
- Aymara (Bolivia) – Soowanna Urcupiña (soh-wah-nah oor-koo-pee-nyah)
How to Say Merry Christmas Throughout the Caribbean
Check out this list of Merry Christmas transalations for Caribbean countries.
- Spanish (Puerto Rico) – ¡Feliz Navidad! (feh-lees nah-vee-dahd)
- Creole (Haiti) – Jwaye Nwel (zhwah-ye no-wel)
- Papiamento (Aruba) – Bon Pasco (bon pahs-koh)
- Jamaican Patois – Meri Krismiss (meh-ree kris-miss)
- Bahamian Creole – Happy Crabmas (ha-pee krab-mas) – this is a bit like “happy Christmas’
Sometimes you may hear other Christmas greetings in different cultures, such as happy Christmas, good Christmas, festive greetings, happy holidays, festive cheer, and Christmas wishes.
Activites for Merry Christmas In Different Languages
- Create flashcards or a colorful poster showcasing greetings from different countries. Practice the pronunciations together and make it a game to see who can remember the most phrases.
- Reach out to homeschool groups or online communities and organize a Christmas card exchange. Ask participants to include a greeting in the language of their choice. It’s a wonderful chance to receive unique cards and learn about different cultures.
- Listen to Christmas carols in different languages and sing along. You can find recordings and lyrics online. Encourage your children to learn the lyrics and melodies, fostering a sense of inclusion and appreciation for different musical traditions.
Why do some people write Merry Xmas?
Contrary to popular belief, the abbreviation Xmas is not an attempt to remove Christ from Christmas. The use of X in place of Christ actually dates back to the early days of Christianity.
The Greek word Christ is written as Χριστός (pronounced Christos), with the first letter Χ (Chi) resembling the English letter X. The early Christian community often used this symbol as a shorthand way of representing Christ in religious texts.
Nowadays, it’s mostly used in written text as an abbreviation in Christmas cards or other written greetings, but not because of the eary Christian traditions. Some do use it to take Christ out of Christmas, whereas other people are just being lazy and don’t want to write out “Christmas.”
In Conclusion
A fun idea would be to have everyone look at this list of foreign languages and learn how to say Merry Christmas in one of them. Then, on Christmas Eve or at Christmas dinner, everyone can take turns saying Merry Christmas in the language they chose. Next, let everyone guess what language it is and see how many people get it right.
Alternatively, you could also make Christmas ornaments during Christmas break and write the various ways to say Merry Christmas in other languages on them. Hang them on your Christmas tree!