Nowadays, more and more Chinese people are celebrating Christmas. Do you know how to say “Merry Christmas” in Chinese? The Chinese word for merry is 快乐 [kuài lè], while for Christmas, it is 圣诞节 [shèng dàn jié], which is on December 25th. And you can see many Christmas trees here and there. People are busy with decorating for Christmas trees and preparing gifts for the people they love.
圣 [shèng] means “saint.”
诞 [dàn] means “birth.”
节 [jié] means “festival” or “holiday.”
So, 圣诞节 [shèng dàn jié] is in memory of the birth of a saint, Jesus.
“Merry Christmas” is translated into Chinese as 圣诞节快乐 [shèng dàn jié kuài lè].
And we can also say 圣诞快乐 [shèng dàn kuài lè] for short.
For example:
| Character | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 圣诞快乐，恭贺新禧！ | shèng dàn kuài lè，gōng hè xīn xǐ！ | Merry Christmas and happy New Year! |
In China, Christmas Eve is called 平安夜 [píng ān yè], which means safety and health.
For example:
| Character | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 平安夜快乐！ | píng ān yè kuài lè！ | Merry Christmas Eve! |
In China, there is a tradition of giving apples on Christmas Eve. Because the Chinese word for apple is 苹果 [píng guǒ] / 平安果 [píng ān guǒ], which has the similar pronunciation of 平安 [píng ān], which means safety. Chinese people think giving people apples means wishing people safe and healthy. The apples are usually decorated in beautiful colored paper, and the price is much expensive than usual. To celebrate the holiday, Chinese people often go to parties with friends, or gather with families and so on.
A new year symbolizes new beginnings, so in China, people usually say 新年快乐 [xīn nián kuài lè] / 元旦快乐 [yuán dàn kuài lè] to wish others a happy new year and good fortune.
This is another way of wishing someone well in the New Year. New Year’s day is on January 1st.
| Character | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 祝新的一年一切都好！ | zhù xīn de yì nián yí qiè dōu hǎo！ | Best wishes for the New Year. |
Because in Calendar, New year's day is only a week away from Christmas, people often celebrate them together. 圣诞快乐 [shèng dàn kuài lè] and 元旦快乐 [yuán dàn kuài lè] are called 双节快乐 [shuāng jié kuài lè].
For example:
| Character | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 在圣诞和元旦来临之际，祝福你平安、快乐、幸福！ | zài shèng dàn hé yuán dàn lái lín zhī jì, zhù fú nǐ píng ān, kuài lè, xìng fú。 | Wishing you peace, joy and happiness through Christmas and the coming new year. |
Merry Christmas is also called 耶诞快乐 [yē dàn kuài lè], which means “Happy birthday, Jesus.”
节日快乐 [jié rì kuài lè] / 假期快乐 [jià qī kuài lè] / 佳节快乐 [jiā jié kuài lè], which mean “Happy holidays”, which can also express “Merry Christmas” in Chinese.
For example:
| Character | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 献上我最诚挚的节日祝福：节日快乐。 | xiàn shàng wǒ zuì chéng zhì de jié rì zhù fú：jié rì kuài lè。 | My sincerest holiday wishes: Happy holidays. |
| Character | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 好好享受假期！ | hǎo hǎo xiǎng shòu jià qī！ | Enjoy the holidays. |
明年见 [míng nián jiàn] / 来年见 [lái nián jiàn] – See you in the new year. See you next year.
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