How to Say Merry Christmas in Chinese!

when “Jingle Bells” is playing non-stop, a festive atmosphere everywhere in China. you’ll see many of the same decorations up: Christmas trees, Merry Christmas banners, colourful lights, and other Christmas ornaments. Christmas Old Man (圣诞老人 – shèng dàn lǎo rén) can be seen in shopping malls, it’s Christmas time again! With all this Christmas cheer around, don’t be a Scrooge – learn how to say “Merry Christmas” in Chinese!

how to say merry christmas in Chinese

In China, most people don’t celebrate Christmas in the religious sense of the word, it also isn’t a public holiday. People sure love the discounts in the stores and gladly take the excuse for a celebration. With the globalisation of Western culture, Christmas is widely celebrated by a lot of Chinese people, especially young people. It’s a better chance to meet up with friends and have Christmas parties. Christmas become more and more popular in China.

Christmas songs are sung in Chinese, but the joy they bring is universal. For example, the famous Christmas song Jingle Bells has two Chinese versions. One is a more faithful translation of the ‘sleighing song’, and the other, beautifully entitled Finding Plum Blossom in Snow, talks about book, music.

The Chinese word for Christmas is 圣诞节 (shèng dàn jié). Let’s see what the characters mean individually to better help you understand the word:

  • 圣 (shèng) means “saint.”
  • 诞 (dàn) means “birth.”
  • 节 (jié) means “festival” or “holiday.”

So, all together the word for Christmas means “the birth of a saint holiday.” Despite the name of the holiday, many people in China still don’t know the reason for the season.

In Chinese, an easy way to wish someone a “happy” or “merry” holiday is simply to add the word 快乐 (kuài lè). Unlike in English, where we’d say “Happy Birthday” or “Merry Christmas,” the word for “happy/merry” comes after the name of the holiday when you say it in Chinese.

圣诞快乐,新年好!
shèng dàn kuài lè, xīn nián hǎo
A Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

圣诞快乐,恭贺新禧!
shèng dàn kuài lè, gōng hè xīn xǐ
Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

献上最诚挚的节日祝福。
xiàn shàng zuì chéng zhì de jié rì zhù fú
Best wishes on this holiday season.

在圣诞和新年来临之际,祝福你平安、快乐、幸福!
zài shèng dàn hé xīn nián lái lín zhī jì, zhù fú nǐ píng ān, kuài lè, xìng fú
Wishing you peace, joy and happiness through Christmas and the coming year.

From Mandarin Zone School Beijing, we wish you a Merry Christmas (我们祝你圣诞节快乐 – Wǒ men zhù nǐ shèng dàn jié kuài lè)!