How to say ‘Merry Christmas’ in Spanish, French and Italian: Festive greetings in other languages explained
2 years ago
Merry Xmas #MerryXmas
“Merry Christmas” will, of course, is the standard festive greeting for many around the UK – but you might not be sure what to say to people who don’t speak English.
You’ll probably be aware of the Spanish greeting “Feliz Navidad!” because of the wildly popular Christmas song released in 1970 by José Feliciano.
But what about other languages? Here are greetings for people around the world this Christmas, and how to make sure you time it just right.
How do you say ‘Merry Christmas’ in other languages?
Here’s how to say “Merry Christmas” (or the equivalent) in a selection of other languages:
Spanish (Spain, Mexico, Colombia and many others): Feliz Navidad!
French (France, Belgium, DR Congo, Canada): Joyeux Noël!
Italian (Italy): Buon Natale!
German (Germany, Austria, Switzerland): Frohe Weihnachten!
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!
When in Rome, be sure to wish people a ‘Buon Natale!’ (Photo: Getty Images) What time is Christmas around the world?
Knowing what to say is one thing – getting the timing right is quite another. Here’s when Christmas Day technically starts around the world in UK time:
Christmas Eve, 24 December
11am – New Zealand (Auckland and Wellington)
12pm – Fiji, Russia (far east)
1pm – Australia (eastern regions), Papua New Guinea, Guam
3pm – Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Indonesia (eastern regions)
4pm – China, Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan
11pm – Albania, Algeria, Angola, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Gibraltar, Vatican City
12am – United Kingdom, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Iceland, Ireland, Liberia, Portugal, Canary Islands, Senegal, Sierra Leone
Christmas Day, 25 December
1am – Cape Verde, Azores
3am – Argentina, parts of Brazil, Falkland Islands, Uruguay
4am – Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Canada (Atlantic Time Zone), Chile (except Easter Island), Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Venezuela
5am Bahamas, Brazil, Canada (Eastern Time Zone), Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Jamaica, Peru, United States (Eastern Time Zone)
6am Belize, Canada (Central Time Zone), Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, parts of Mexico, United States (Central Time Zone)
7am Canada (Mountain Time Zone), United States (Mountain Time Zone)
8am Canada (Pacific Time Zone), United States (Pacific Time Zone)
9am Alaska
10am New Zealand (Cook Islands), Hawaii
More on Christmas What do people around the world eat for Christmas dinner?
While turkey might be the traditional Christmas dinner in the UK, this is by no means universal.
The Portuguese, for example, love to celebrate the festivities by eating variations of codfish and boiled potatoes, and have two types of Christmas cake: the nut and fruit-filled Bolo Rei and Bolo Rainha, a variation with no candied fruit.
In Germany, they traditionally eat dinner with duck, goose, rabbit or a roast, and sides such as potato and red cabbage dumplings, and stollen for dessert.
The Japanese, meanwhile, celebrate Christmas by eating fried chicken, a tradition began in 1974 when KFC created an advertising campaign called “Kentucky for Christmas”.
Ghanaians tend to eat rice balls with chicken and fish in palm nut soup for their Christmas dinner, which is normally eaten around 2pm.
On Christmas Eve, it’s traditional in Norway to eat roasted pork served with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes, while whole, steamed sheep’s head is another favourite.
Christmas falls in the middle of summer in Australia, therefore the usual Christmas meal is often salads and cold meats, while BBQs on the beach are also popular.
When in Rome, be sure to wish people a ‘Buon Natale!’ (Photo: Getty Images) What time is Christmas around the world?