“Merry Christmas” is a phrase that people all over the world can recognize, even if they do not speak English. December 25 is a religious holiday with ties to pagan roots (and a highly commercial evolution) that transcends religious boundaries. It is celebrated by Catholics, Protestants and people of various other religions and non-religions all around the world.
Of course, even if they recognize “Merry Christmas,” people have their own versions in their own languages and dialects. Here are 100 versions for you to peruse from various languages and countries, with more here if you’re curious:
- Geseënde Kerfees (Afrikaans)
- Rehus-Beal-Ledeats (African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja)
- E gueti Wnchte & E glecklichs Nej Johr! (Alsatian)
- Gozhqq Keshmish (Apache)
- Milad Majid (Arabic)
- Feliz Navidad (Argentina)
- Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand (Armenian)
- Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun (Azeri)
- Zorionak eta Urte Berri On! (Basque)
- Winshuyu sa Svyatkami i z Novym godam! (Belorussian)
- Vesele Vanoce (Bohemian)
- Feliz Natal (Brazilian)
- Shubho borodin (Bengali)
- Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat (Breton)
- Tchestita Koleda or Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo (Bulgarian)
- Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou! (Catalan)
- Danistayohihv & Aliheli’sdi Itse Udetiyvsadisv (Cherokee)
- Feliz Navidad (Chile)
- Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun (Cantonese)
- Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito (Choctaw)
- Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo (Columbia)
- Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth (Cornish)
- Bon Natale e Bon capu d’ annu (Corsican)
- Sretan Bozic (Croatian)
- Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok (Czech)
- Glædelig Jul (Danish)
- Ni ti Burunya Chou & Mi ti yuun (Dagbani)
- Miet puou yan dhiedh Banyda tene Yin (Dinka)
- Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! (Dutch)
- Colo sana wintom tiebeen (Egyptian)
- Merry Christmas (English)
- Ruumsaid juulup|hi (Estonian)
- Melkin Yelidet Beaal Amharic (Ethiopian)
- Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad (Farsi)
- Me Nomuni na marau ni siga ni sucu dei na yabaki vou (Fijian)
- Maligayang Pasko! (Filipino)
- Hyvaa joulua (Finnish)
- Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar (Flemish)
- Joyeux Noel (French)
- Mangamgam Bawa a dawun sikua diaw amin (Gaddang)
- Nollaig chridheil huibh (Gaelic)
- Bo nada (Galician)
- Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr! (Gaelic)
- Gilotsavt Krist’es Shobas & Gilosavt akhal ts’els (Georgian)
- Froehliche Weihnachten (German)
- Kala Christouyenna! (Greek)
- Juullimi Pilluaritsi! (Greenlandic)
- Natal ni shub kaamnao & Saal Mubarak (Gujarati)
- Mele Kalikimak (Hawaiian)
- Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova (Hebrew)
- Baradin ki shubh kamnaaye (Hindi)
- Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket (Hungarian)
- Gledileg Jol (Icelandic)
- Ekelere m gi maka Keresimesi na ubochi izizi afo ozo (Igbo)
- Selamat Hari Natal (Indonesian)
- Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo! (Inupik)
- Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah (Iraqi)
- Nollaig Shona Dhuit / Nodlaig mhaith chugnat (Irish)
- Buone Feste Natalizie (Italian)
- Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto (Japanese)
- Sugeng Natal lan warsa enggal (Javanese)
- Sung Tan Chuk Ha (Korean)
- Seva piroz sahibe u sersala te piroz be (Kurdish)
- Souksan van Christmas (Lao)
- Natale hilare et Annum Faustum! (Latin)
- Prieci’gus Ziemsve’tkus un Laimi’gu Jauno Gadu! (Latvian)
- Linksmu Kaledu (Lithuanian)
- Streken Bozhik (Macedonian)
- Arahaba tratry ny Krismasy (Malagasy)
- Selamat Hari Natal Bahasa (Malaysia)
- Nixtieklek Milied tajjeb u is-sena t-tabja! (Maltese)
- Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan (Mandarin)
- Meri Kirihimete (Maori)
- Zul saryn bolon shine ony mend devshuulye (Marathi)
- Merry Keshmish (Navajo)
- God Jul / Gledelig Jul (Norwegian)
- Niibaa’ anami’egiizhigad & Aabita Biboon (Ojibwe)
- En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr! (Pennsylvania German)
- Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo (Peru)
- Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia (Polish)
- Feliz Natal (Portuguese)
- Nave sal di mubaraka (Punjabi)
- Bachtalo krecunu Thaj Bachtalo Nevo Bers (Romani)
- Craciun Fericit (Romanian)
- Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom (Russian)
- La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou (Samoan)
- Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou (Sardinian)
- Hristos se rodi (Serbian)
- Sretan Bozic / Vesele vianoce (Slovakian)
- Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa (Singhalese)
- Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok (Slovak)
- Feliz Navidad (Spanish)
- Wilujeng Natal Sareng Warsa Enggal (Sudanese)
- God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År (Swedish)
- Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal (Tamil)
- Sawadee Pee Mai / Souksan wan Christmas (Thai)
- Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun (Turkish)
- Naya Saal Mubarak Ho (Urdu)
- Chuc Mung Giang Sinh (Vietnamese)
- Nadolig Llawen (Welsh)
