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9 Ways to say Merry Christmas around the world

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Jorieri | Shutterstock

Cerith Gardiner - published on 12/17/19 - updated on 12/23/21

Calling all linguists: try these out with your kids!

One way of spreading goodwill during the festive season is to be able to wish others a “Merry Christmas.” Whether you live in a cosmopolitan area and mingle with people from different countries, have digital friends from around the world, or just have a love of languages, take a look at how you can share a little Christmas joy during this festive season.

To help you out with the more unusual languages we’ve included a link on how to pronounce it: be prepared as some are real tongue twisters for English speakers!

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Icelandic

In the chilly northern countries, Christmas time is rich in meaning and symbolism. Passers by might wish each other gleðileg jól.

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Spanish

You’ll probably be quite at ease pronouncing Feliz Navidad, used throughout Spain and Latin America. But watch out for that end consonant! Feliz means “happy or glad,” and it’s a lovely way to express how we feel about the birth of Jesus.

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Italian

In Rome you might hear a lot of Buon Natale, pronounced Bwon Nah-TAH-ley. It’s one of the easier alternatives to the English greeting, so try a few more festive Italian words with this video.

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Tags:
Christmas
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