Feliz Navidad meaning: What lyrics of Christmas song mean, and what ‘Merry Christmas’ is in other languages
Feliz Navidad #FelizNavidad
Christmas is nearly here, with festive merriment offering a welcome distraction from such a chaotic and challenging year – and if you want to feel festive, there’s nothing better than listening to some classic Christmas music.
A good place to start would be “Feliz Navidad”, a Christmas song written in 1970 by the Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Feliciano.
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With its simple Spanish chorus and equally simple English verse “I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart”, it has become a much loved Christmas pop song, throughout the Spanish-speaking world and internationally.
But what do the lyrics of the popular festive tune actually mean? Here’s what you need to know:
What do the lyrics of Feliz Navidad mean?
Feliz Navidad Christmas tree bauble. The phrase means ‘Happy Christmas’ in Spanish (Photo: Patricia Marroquin/Getty Images)
Feliz Navidad is a very simple song, with just nineteen words in English and Spanish, repeated over a three minute run time.
Only six of those words are in Spanish: “Feliz Navidad, próspero año y felicidad.”
This translates to: “Merry Christmas, prosperous year and happiness.”
The other thirteen words are English: “I wanna wish you a merry Christmas, from the bottom of my heart.”
The song has been heard on the radio by an estimated 3.8 billion people, according to Billboard, where it remains one of the top 10 best-performing songs on its Holiday 100 chart.
It has also appeared in movies such as The Grinch and in TV shows from All in the Family to Glee.
How do you say Merry Christmas in other languages?
Of course, countries around the world have their own festive greeting; here’s how to say Merry Christmas in other languages:
Italian (Italy): Buon Natale!
German (Germany, Austria, Switzerland): Frohe Weihnachten!
Irish (Ireland): Nollaig Shona Dhuit!
Portugese (Portugal): Boas Festas!
Dutch (Belgium): Zalig Kerstfeest!
Dutch (Netherlands): Prettige Kerstdagen/ Zalig Kerstfeest!
Polish (Poland): Wesolych Swiat
Albanian (Albania): Gëzuar Krishlindjet!
Greek (Greece): Eftihismena Christougenna!
Croatian (Croatia): Sretan Bozic!
Romanian (Romania, Moldova): Craciun Fericit!
Japanese (Japan): Merii Kurisumasu!
Mandarin (China): Kung His Hsin Nien Bing Chu Shen Tan China!
Thai (Thailand): S̄uk̄hs̄ạnt̒ wạn khris̄t̒mās̄!
Korean (Korea): Sung Tan Chuk Ha!
Vietnamese (Vietnam): Chuc Mung Giang Sinh!
Punjabi (India / Pakistan): Karisama te nawāṃ sāla khušayāṃwālā hewe!
Danish (Denmark): Glaedelig Jul!
Estonian (Estonia): Rôômsaid Jôule!
Icelandic (Iceland): Gleðileg jól!