Merry Christmas translation: a round up of Seasons Greetings

Share multilingual goodwill with our translation of various greetings for the Christmas holiday.

Merry Chirstmas Translation

With December firmly upon us, many around the world are preparing for Christmas Day on 25 December. In fact, as this map shows, the bulk of the countries in the world mark Christmas with some kind of holiday:

Map of Countries that do not recognize Christmas as Public Holiday

Map: by Nanib via Wikimedia Commons

 

So to bring seasons greetings, here is our roundup of some Merry Christmas translations:

Merry Christmas Chinese translation

The Chinese translation for Merry Christmas is:
圣诞快乐 (Simplified Chinese)
聖誕快樂 (Traditional Chinese)

If you prefer to wish “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy holidays”, Chinese equivalents are:
节日的祝贺 (Simplified Chinese)
節日的祝賀 (Traditional Chinese)

Merry Christmas Chinese Translation (simplified)
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Merry Christmas Chinese Translation

Merry Christmas Chinese Translation (traditional)
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Merry Christmas Chinese Translation

Not sure about the difference between Traditional and Simplified Chinese? We explain in our guide to translation jargon.

Merry Christmas Danish translation

Watched too much of The Killing this Christmas, or just want to impress your friends from Denmark? The Danish translation for Merry Christmas is:
Glædelig jul
Merry Christmas Danish Translation
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Merry Christmas Danish Translation

Merry Christmas Dutch translation

The Dutch translation for Merry Christmas is:
Gelukkig Kerstfeest
If you prefer to wish “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy holidays”, a Dutch equivalent is:
Beste Wensen
Merry Christmas Dutch Translation
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Merry Christmas Dutch Translation

Merry Christmas Finnish translation

The Finnish translation for Merry Christmas is:
Hauskaa joulua
Merry Christmas Finnish Translation
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Merry Christmas Finnish Translation

Merry Christmas French translation

The French translation for Merry Christmas is:
Joyeux Noël
If you prefer to wish “Season’s Greetings”, a French equivalent is:
Meilleurs vœux
Merry Christmas French Translation
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Merry Christmas French Translation

Merry Christmas German translation

The German translation for Merry Christmas is:
Frohe Weihnachten
If you prefer to wish “Seasons Greeting’s” or “Happy holidays”, a German equivalent is:
Fröhliche Feiertage!
Merry Christmas German Translation
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Merry Christmas German Translation

Merry Christmas Hungarian translation

The Hungarian translation for Merry Christmas is:
Kellemes Karácsonyi ünnepeket
(this is the common phrase for cards and so on, although it means wish you a Merry Christmas so you can just use “Kellemes Karácsonyt” if short of space)
Merry Christmas Hungarian Translation
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Merry Christmas Hungarian Translation

Merry Christmas Irish Gaelic translation

The Irish Gaelic translation for Merry Christmas is:
Nollaig Shona Duit (singluar)
Nollaig Shona Daoibh (plural)
Merry Christmas Irish Gaelic Translation
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Merry Christmas Irish Gaelic Translation

Merry Christmas Italian translation

The Italian translation for Merry Christmas is:
Buon Natale
If you prefer to wish “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy holidays”, an Italian equivalent is:
Buone Feste
Merry Christmas Italian Translation
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Merry Christmas Italian Translation

Merry Christmas Japanese translation

If making a Christmas greeting, many Japanese people will use a transliteration of the English:
メリークリスマス
Merry Christmas Japanese Translation
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Merry Christmas Japanese Translation

Merry Christmas Polish translation

In Polish, your Christmas greeting could be:
Wesołych Świąt
This phrase is also used at Easter in Poland.
Merry Christmas Polish Translation
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Merry Christmas Polish Translation

Merry Christmas Portuguese translation

The Portuguese translation for Merry Christmas is:
Feliz Natal
If you prefer to wish “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy holidays”, a Portuguese equivalent is:
Boas Festas
These Portuguese Christmas translations are suitable for both Portugual and Brazil. You can listen to Merry Christmas in Portuguese [mp3 via omniglot.com]
Merry Christmas Portuguese Translation
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Merry Christmas Portuguese Translation

Merry Christmas Russian translation

The Russian translation for Merry Christmas is:
С Рождеством Христовым!
or
С Рождеством!
Listen to Merry Christmas in Russian [mp3 via omniglot.com].

If you prefer to wish “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy holidays”, a Russian equivalent is:
С Праздником!
NB Many Russians celebrate Christmas on 7 January, in line with the Julian calendar. You can read more about this, and other Christmas day variations, in Wikipedia’s Christmas worldwide
Merry Christmas Russian Translation
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Merry Christmas Russian Translation

Merry Christmas Spanish translation

The Spanish translation for Merry Christmas is:
Feliz Navidad
If you prefer to wish “Season’s Greetings”, a Spanish equivalent is:
Felices fiestas
These Spanish Christmas translations are suitable for both Spain and Latin America.
Merry Christmas Spanish Translation
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Merry Christmas Spanish Translation

Merry Christmas Swedish translation

To get a little bit Wallander this Christmas, the Swedish translation for Merry Christmas is:
God Jul
Merry Christmas Swedish Translation
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Merry Christmas Swedish Translation

Merry Christmas Welsh translation

The Welsh translation for Merry Christmas is:
Nadolig Llawen
If you prefer to wish “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy holidays”, a Welsh equivalent is:
Cyfarchion y tymor
Merry Christmas Welsh Translation
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Merry Christmas Welsh Translation

More?

Of course, this is just a few of the world’s languages. How do you send your Christmas greetings and what would you like to see added to our list?

 

* Merry Christmas translation graphics are published under Creative Commons license (CC BY 2.0 UK). You are free to use the graphics, but must link to this site (as in the html above) or otherwise credit this site.

 

7 Replies to “Merry Christmas translation: a round up of Seasons Greetings”

  1. Thank you so much this is going up in a children’s center in Lancaster, California. We are about 50 miles north of Los Angeles. This is Special Education Center. This will be a fun new lesson.

    CV HP.

  2. No clue, where you picked up the strange german phrase, but it is wrong. Nobody would say something like this in proper German as “Saison” has a different connotation and refers e.g. to vaccation – and not public holiday, e.g. Skissaison. Food can also be in “Saison” – e.g. Erdbeersaison (strawberry season), Spargelsaison (aspargus season).

    If you would like to wish “Happy Holidays”, you better say “Frohe/ Fröhliche Feiertage!” or “Frohes Fest!”.

  3. @Sandra, thanks for your feedback. You are quite right, the German translator seems to have somewhat missed the point here… and context is all in translation. We have discussed your suggestions with some other German speakers who agree and have duly updated. As an aside, it is interesting the English phrase does not have a totally uncontroversial past: meaning of Season’s Greetings

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