{"id":144999,"date":"2023-11-21T18:21:52","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T23:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/merry-christmas-in-spanish\/"},"modified":"2024-11-29T04:58:30","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T09:58:30","slug":"merry-christmas-in-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/merry-christmas-in-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"“Merry Christmas” in Spanish and Other Holiday Greetings"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may already know the most common way to say “Merry Christmas!” in Spanish: \u00a1<\/em><\/strong>Feliz Navidad!<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0But there are many other greetings and phrases you can use to spread festive cheer this holiday season.<\/p>\n

Plus, you’ll want to have some Christmas-themed vocabulary in Spanish under your belt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Traditional Holiday Greetings in Spanish<\/h2>\n

\"merry<\/a><\/p>\n

Keep in mind that Spanish-speaking countries usually celebrate Christmas on December 24, not the 25th. They call this night Nochebuena\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(literally “good night,” but meaning Christmas Eve). And of course, after Christmas celebrations wrap up, the New Year<\/a> is right around the corner.<\/p>\n

Here are some common phrases you’ll hear around this time of the year. Note that all of these phrases are in the singular, informal <\/span>t\u00fa<\/span><\/i> (you) form. To make them formal or plural, refer to <\/span>our guide on conjugating Spanish verbs<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a1F<\/em>eliz Navidad!<\/em> (Merry Christmas!)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Of course,\u00a0feliz<\/em> means “happy,” so the literal translation of\u00a0Feliz Navidad\u00a0<\/em>is “Happy Christmas.”\u00a0Navidad <\/em>comes from the Latin nativus<\/em>, meaning “born”\u2014the same root word for the English word “nativity.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a1Felices Fiestas! <\/em>(Happy Holidays!)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While you may know the Spanish word fiesta<\/em> to mean “party,” las fiestas\u00a0<\/em>can also refer to the holidays. This is a good way to greet someone in a more general way, referring to all of the festivities that are celebrated around this time of the year.<\/p>\n

\u00a1Feliz A\u00f1o Nuevo! <\/em>(<\/strong>Happy New Year!)<\/h3>\n

You can also just say \u00a1F<\/em>eliz A\u00f1o!<\/em>, which literally means “Happy Year!” but is really just a shorter way of saying “Happy New Year!” in Spanish.<\/p>\n

Que tengas un pr\u00f3spero a\u00f1o. <\/em>(<\/strong>I hope you have a prosperous new year.)<\/h3>\n

This is a good phrase to write in a Christmas card, message or email\u2014though be sure to change <\/span>tengas<\/span><\/i> to <\/span>tengan <\/span><\/i>if you’re talking to more than one person. Note that this phrase uses<\/span> the subjunctive form<\/span><\/a> of the verb <\/span>tener <\/span><\/i>(to have).<\/span><\/p>\n

Con mucho cari\u00f1o, te deseo una Feliz Navidad. <\/strong><\/em>(<\/strong>With all my love, I wish you a Happy Christmas.)<\/h3>\n

If you want to go all out on your Christmas message, tack on “y un pr\u00f3spero A\u00f1o Nuevo”<\/em>\u00a0(and a prosperous New Year) at the end of this phrase.<\/p>\n

Spanish Greetings for Wishing Happiness to Others<\/h2>\n

To go even further with the Christmas love, you can wish joy and happiness to those around you with the following phrases:<\/p>\n

Mis mejores deseos para Navidad y A\u00f1o Nuevo.<\/strong><\/em>
\nMy best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.<\/p>\n

Te deseo mucha alegr\u00eda y felicidad estas\u00a0fiestas.<\/strong><\/em>
\nI wish you lots of joy and happiness this holiday season.<\/p>\n

Que se cumplan tus deseos\/sue\u00f1os.<\/strong><\/em>
\nMay your dreams come true.<\/p>\n

Este a\u00f1o te deseo amor, dinero y salud.<\/strong><\/em>
\nThis year I wish you love, money and health.<\/p>\n

Mucho cari\u00f1o para ti y tu familia esta Navidad.<\/strong><\/em>
\nLots of love to you and your family this Christmas.<\/p>\n

Que lo pasen lindo.<\/em><\/strong>
\nI hope you have a nice time. (This refers to the Christmas celebrations themselves.)<\/p>\n

Que lo pasen en familia.<\/strong><\/em>
\nI hope you spend time with your\u00a0family.<\/p>\n

Que en esta Navidad el mejor regalo que recibas sea estar junto a tus seres queridos compartiendo paz, esperanza y alegr\u00eda.<\/strong><\/em>
\nI hope that this Christmas the best present you get is to be near your loved ones sharing peace, hope and joy.<\/p>\n

You can switch these around or be more specific about spreading joy over las fiestas <\/strong><\/em>(the holidays). For example, you might wish others’ dreams come true by saying “Que se cumplan tus deseos estas fiestas\/esta Navidad\/en el A\u00f1o Nuevo.”<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Religious Spanish Christmas Greetings<\/h2>\n

If you’d like to spread joy of a more religious nature, try these phrases:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Que Dios te bendiga este A\u00f1o Nuevo.<\/strong><\/em>
\nGod bless you this new year.<\/p>\n

Que Jes\u00fas te proteja a ti y a tu familia este A\u00f1o Nuevo.<\/strong><\/em>
\nMay Jesus protect you and your family this New Year.<\/p>\n

Que la estrella de Bel\u00e9n ilumine tu vida esta Navidad.<\/strong><\/em>
\nI hope that Bethlehem’s star lights up your life this Christmas.<\/p>\n

Que los Reyes (Magos) te protejan.<\/strong><\/em>
\nMay the three Kings (Wise Men) protect you.<\/p>\n

Note that in many Spanish countries, the Reyes Magos<\/em> are said to visit on January 6,<\/strong> so you may hear references to them around this time.<\/p>\n

Playful Spanish Christmas Greetings<\/h2>\n

If you like to spread the Christmas love by making your loved ones laugh, giggle or smile, try these more playful Christmas greetings:<\/p>\n

Todo lo que quiero para\u00a0Navidad eres t\u00fa.<\/strong><\/em>
\nAll I want for Christmas is you.<\/p>\n

Espero que no te hayas portado mal este a\u00f1o.<\/strong><\/em>
\nI hope you haven’t been too naughty this year.<\/p>\n

No le des demasiado al turr\u00f3n.<\/strong><\/em>
\nGo easy on the turr\u00f3n <\/em>(a Spanish nougat candy).<\/p>\n

You can also hear the greetings in this post in the language learning program FluentU.<\/a><\/strong>

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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