How to say happy holidays & Merry Christmas in 106 languages
Author
Karolina Assi
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.
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
You’re already might be 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
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.
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.
