How To Say “Happy Holidays” In Different Languages

Blog
12 December 2023
By Sarah Angela Almaden
Japanese House
Dashing Through The Snow / Disney+

Nothing can ever beat the magic of the holiday season. After all, this season is the season of giving, loving, and eating trays of delicious chocolate chip cookies. Okay, be careful eating so many cookies because that sounds a bit unhealthy. Anyway, this season also calls for a lot of well wishes, whether or not you celebrate something special this time of year.

One of these well wishes is the phrase Merry Christmas. But, as you know, that isn’t the only phrase that people say to each other every December. Because not all people celebrate Christmas. Instead of saying Merry Christmas or Happy Christmas, some prefer wishing Happy Holidays. Because wishing Happy Holidays is more inclusive and welcoming to more communities, most especially to those who celebrate festivities that are not Christmas. Hence, another delightful way of spreading some holiday cheer for all to hear is really by saying Happy Holidays.

  • English: Happy holidays (ha-pi hoh-li-days)
  • German: Schöne Ferien (shuh-neh feh-reen)
  • French: Joyeuses fêtes (jwa-yoos fet)
  • Italian: Buone vacanze (bwo-neh va-kan-zeh)
  • Catalan: Bones festes (boh-nes fes-tes)
  • Indonesian: Selamat berlibur (seh-la-mat ber-li-burr)
  • Japanese: 楽しい休暇をお過ごしください (tanoshī kyūka o o sugoshi kudasai)
  • Korean: 즐거운 휴일 보내세요 (jeulgeoun hyuil bonaeseyo)
  • Swedish: Trevlig helg (trre-ev-lig heelg)
  • Norwegian: Glade høytider (glah-deh hoy-tee-der)
  • Spanish: Felices fiestas (feh-lee-ses fyes-tas)
  • Dutch: Prettige Feestdagen (preh-ti-kuh feisty-dah-ken)
  • Afrikaans: Geseënde vakansies (geh-sen-nuh-duh vuh=kan-sees)
  • Arabic: اجازة سعيدة (ajazat saeida)
  • Greek: Καλές διακοπές (Kalés diakopés)
  • Hindi: छुट्टियों की शुभकामनाएं (chhuttiyon kee shubhakaamanaen)
  • Portuguese: Boas festas (boh-was fes-tas)
  • Turkish: Mutlu tatiller (moot-loo tah-tee-lehr)
  • Russian: Счастливых праздников (schastlivykh prazdnikov)
  • Polish: Wesołych Świąt (veh-soh-wih shvee-ont)
  • Korean: 즐거운 휴일 보내세요 (jeulgeoun hyuil bonaeseyo)