Christmas is around the corner and is now taken as a cultural festival too. People from different religions also celebrate it with full zeal and enthusiasm. The origin of Christmas comes from the pagan and roman cultures. Romans initially used to celebrate two holidays in the month of December. They used to celebrate on 25th December about their sun god Mithra.
Christmas in the USA
Initially, Christmas was banned in America as people had issues with the beliefs due to its pagan origin and background. They had this approach due to the harsh nature of the celebrations during those times. However other immigrants who arrived from Europe continued with their own customs and traditions of their homelands. It was back in the 1600s when Dutch brought Sinter Klaas to New York. Similarly, German people brought their tree traditions during the 1700s. every community had its own way of celebrating Christmas with mixed traditions and values.
Christmas in the USA was not shaped until 1800. In 1822 the modern idea of Santa Claus as a jolly man came up. It was in 1881 that an artist Thomas Nast was hired to make a sketch of Santa for a Coke a Cola advert. It was after it that an image of Santa who is a cheerful, fat white-bearded man in a red suit became a symbol of Christmas in American culture.
Christmas tree
In ancient times and as part of the solstice celebration people from pagan cultures often decorated their homes with green in advent and used to come and enjoy. The trees which remained green in the coldest and darkest times were considered to hold special powers. Romans also used to decorate their temples with fir trees during Saturnalia and also decorated with little bits of metal. It is also reported that Greeks used to decorate trees to honor their Gods. Interestingly, Greek people hung the first trees from the ceiling upside down, and initially, the trees had this kind of placement in a home during the Christmas season.
However, it is interesting and worth mentioning that the tree tradition which is in practice today hails from Northern Europe where pagan tribes of German origin decorated evergreen trees to worship God with candles and dried fruit. This custom was integrated with the Christian faith in Germany during the 1500s. They further used to decorate these trees in their homes with sweets, toys, and a lot of lights.
Merry Christmas in different languages
USA is a multicultural country and is home to different ethnicities and cultures. A lot of immigrants have moved in there from different regions and continents. English is used as the general language to communicate with global contacts and to exchange pleasantries and greetings. However, greetings others in their native language can make a real difference. Staff who is contributing to the organizational success in another country feel valued and proud when get to notice the efforts made by their employer to make them happy, feel at home, and comfortable. It is always a good idea to greet and exchange greetings in their native language so that they feel more connected.
Here is how we can greet ‘Merry Christmas’ in 50 different languages.
- Arabic
The speakers of the Arabic language celebrate Christmas with great enthusiasm and its speakers wish merry Christmas asعيد ميلاد مجيد.
- Afrikaans
People who speak the Afrikaans language say ‘Geseënde kersfees’ to greet Happy Christmas.
- Armenian
People of the Armenian language wish Christmas with ‘šnorhavor Surb Cnund’.
- Azerbaijani
Merry Christmas is ‘Xoşbəxt milad’ in the Azerbaijani language.
- Aymara
The language Aymara is a unique language and people who celebrate Christmas there speak ‘Sooma nawira-ra’.
- Bengali
It is ‘shubho bôṛodin’ in the Bengali language.
- Belarusian
It is ‘Z Kaljadami’ for Merry Christmas in Belarusian.
- Bosnian
Speakers of the Bosnian language greet each other by uttering the phrases such as ‘Srecan Bozic, Sretan Bozic’.
- Bulgarian
Bulgarian language is spoken in Bulgaria and its surroundings. They greet it as ‘Vesela Koleda’.
- Cornish
Merry Christmas is ‘Nadelik Lowen’ in the Cornish language.
- Czech
‘Veselé Vánoce’ are the right words to greet Christmas in the Czech language. You can note these down if you plan to celebrate your next Christmas in the Czech Republic.
- Dari
Are you going to spend Christmas with people who speak Dari? It is ‘Christmas Mubarak’.
- Danish
Danish people celebrate and enjoy the festival of Christmas by saying ‘Glædelig jul, god jul’
- Dutch
People from Germany and the surrounding who speak the Dutch language greet each other with the words
‘Prettige Kerstdagen’
- English
English is considered the universal business language. It is mostly used for communication and interaction in most regions of the world.
English speakers greet each other with the words ‘Merry Christmas’.
A lot of people and official statements include ‘Happy Christmas’ too.
- Esperanto
In Esperanto language, it is ‘Gojan Kirstnaskon’.
- Estonian
Merry Christmas is ‘Häid joule’ in the Estonian language.
- Farsi
People of Faris utter ‘Christmas Mobarak’.
- French
French is another popular language in the western world. French celebrates this festival very fondly.
They greet Christmas as
‘Joyeux Noël’.
- German
Merry Christmas is Frohe Weihnachten in the German language.
- Greek
It is ‘Kala christougenna’ in Greek to wish Merry Christmas.
- Greenlandic
Merry Christmas is ‘Juullimi pilluarit’ in the Greenlandic language.
- Gujarati
Are you learning the Gujarati language? It is ‘Anandi Natal or Khushi Natal’ for the Gujrati people.
- Hebrew
Are you visiting relatives who speak the Hebrew language? You may utter ‘Chag Molad Sameach’ to wish them Christmas.
- Hungarian
Speakers of Hungarian speak ‘Boldog karacsonyt’ for Merry Christmas.
- Icelandic
People in Iceland who speak their native language wish for Christmas by saying ‘Gleðileg jól’.
- Inuit
It is ‘Quvianagli Anaiyyuniqpaliqsi’ for Happy Christmas.
- Irish
Irish people speak ‘Nollaig Shona’ for Merry Christmas.
- Italian
Merry Christmas is ‘Buon Natale’ in the Italian language.
- Japanese
‘Meri Kurisumasu’ is spoken for Christmas greetings in Japan.
- Korean
Korean greet Christmas as ‘Meri krismas’.
- Latvian
The speakers of the Latvian language speak ‘Priecīgus Ziemassvētkus’ to say Merry Christmas.
- Lithuanian
You may greet Merry Christmas by saying ‘Linksmu Kaledu’ if you plan to visit a friend who speaks Lithuanian this Christmas.
- Mandarin
Mandarin is the world’s most-spoken language and many Chinese speakers also celebrate Christmas and greet in their native language as 聖誕快樂.
- Marathi
‘Śubh Nātāḷ’ is the right phrase if you want to greet a friend who speaks Marathi.
- Moksha
The speakers of the Moksha language speak ‘Rostuva Marxta’.
- Norwegian
Christmas is one of the greatest festivals in Norway. Norwegian people greet each other with the words ‘God jul’.
- Portuguese
This language is one of the most spoken languages all over the world. They speak Feliz Natal to share the festivities of Christmas.
- Russian
It is important to take note that Russians celebrate the Christmas on 6th of January. They use Счастливого Рождества these words.
- Sanskrit
People who speak the Sanskrit language utter ‘Krismasasya shubhkaamnaa’ to wish their fellows Christmas.
- Serbian
Christmas in Serbia is a big deal and event. People enjoy it with full zeal and greet each other as ‘Hristos se rodi’.
- Slovak
You may say ‘Vesele Viance’ to wish happy Christmas in Slovak.
- Spanish
The people who speak Spanish are quite fond of celebrating Christmas and use the words ‘Feliz Navidad’ to greet Christmas.
- Swahili
If you are planning to celebrate this festival with speakers of the Swahili language. Mark these words ‘Heri ya krismasi, Krismasi njema’.
- Swedish
Interestingly, there is not much difference in words to greet Christmas in the Swedish language too and it goes the same way as in Norwegian. It is ‘God jul’.
- Tamil
The speakers of the Tamil language speak ‘kiṟistumas vāḻttukkaḷ’ for wishing Christmas.
- Thai
It is going to be ‘Suk sarn warn Christmas’ for Thai speakers.
- Turkish
‘Mutlu Noeller’ is spoken in the Turkish language when people intend to say Merry Christmas.
- Ukrainian
‘Z Rizdvom’ is used to greet Christmas in the Ukrainian language.
- Vietnamese
Merry Christmas is ‘Chuc mung Giang Sinh’ in the Vietnamese language.
| Serial. No. | Language | Merry Christmas |
| 1. | Arabic | عيد ميلاد مجيد |
| 2. | Afrikaans | Geseënde kersfees |
| 3. | Armenian | Snorhavor Surb Cnund |
| 4. | Azerbaijani | Xoşbəxt milad |
| 5. | Aymara | Sooma nawira-ra |
| 6. | Bengali | Shubho bôṛodin |
| 7. | Belarusian | Z Kaljadami |
| 8. | Bosnian | Srecan Bozic |
| 9. | Bulgarian | Vesela Koleda |
| 10. | Cornish | Nadelik Lowen |
| 11. | Czech | Veselé Vánoce |
| 12. | Dari | Christmas Mubarak |
| 13. | Danish | Glædelig jul, god jul |
| 14. | Dutch | Prettige Kerstdagen |
| 15. | English | Merry/Happy Christmas |
| 16. | Esperanto | Gojan Kirstnaskon |
| 17. | Estonian | Häid joule |
| 18. | Farsi | Christmas Mobarak |
| 19. | French | Joyeux Noël |
| 20. | German | Frohe Weihnachten |
| 21. | Greek | Kala christougenna |
| 22. | Greenlandic | Juullimi pilluarit |
| 23. | Gujrati | Anandi Natal |
| 24. | Hebrew | Chag Molad Sameach |
| 25. | Hungarian | Boldog karacsonyt |
| 26. | Icelandic | Gleðileg jól |
| 27. | Inuit | Quvianagli Anaiyyuniqpaliqsi |
| 28. | Irish | Nollaig Shona |
| 29. | Italian | Buon Natale |
| 30. | Japanese | Meri Kurisumasu |
| 31. | Korean | Meri krismas |
| 32. | Latvian | Priecīgus Ziemassvētkus |
| 33. | Lithuanian | Linksmu Kaledu |
| 34. | Mandarin | 聖誕快樂 |
| 35. | Marathi | Śubh Nātāḷ |
| 36. | Moksha | Rostuva Marxta |
| 37. | Norwegian | God jul |
| 38. | Portuguese | Feliz Natal |
| 39. | Russian | Счастливого Рождества |
| 40. | Sanskrit | Krismasasya shubhkaamnaa |
| 41. | Serbian | Hristos se rodi |
| 42. | Slovak | Vesele Viance |
| 43. | Spanish | Feliz Navidad |
| 44. | Swahili | Heri ya krismasi, Krismasi njema |
| 45. | Swedish | God jul |
| 46. | Tamil | Kiṟistumas vāḻttukkaḷ |
| 47. | Thai | Suk sarn warn Christmas |
| 48. | Turkish | Mutlu Noeller |
| 49. | Ukrainian | Z Rizdvom |
| 50. | Vietnamese | Chuc mung Giang Sinh |
Conclusion
Christmas is a festival that is celebrated all over the world on 25th December with great enthusiasm and full zeal. People from different backgrounds come forward to celebrate the event. Many people celebrate it despite different religious beliefs. Christmas is commonly greeted by saying ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Happy Christmas’ in different parts of the world where there are English speakers. However, people prefer to wish it in their native language. Phrases to wish Christmas in 50 different languages have been shared above for the readers.
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