Merry Christmas in Chinese – 圣诞快乐

It’s coming to the happy time of Christmas again, and everyone is in a festival mood. So, you might be wondering how to say Merry Christmas in Chinese. In this article, you will learn how to say and write merry Christmas in mandarin Chinese, how Chinese people celebrate Christmas in China and also learn Chinese vocabularies related to Christmas.

Merry Christmas in Chinese

"Merry Christmas" is called “圣诞节快乐(shènɡdànjié kuàilè)” in Chinese. “圣诞” means “the birth of Jesus”, “节” means “Day” as in “中秋节（Mid-autumn Day）” and “国庆节（National Day）”, and “快乐” means “to be happy” or “merry.” Most often, Chinese people use “圣诞快乐” without using the Chinese character “节”.

To wish somebody a Merry Christmas in Chinese, you can put “祝你zhù nǐ (to wish you…)” before “圣诞快乐.” So, altogether it goes: 祝你圣诞（节）快乐。 You can practise this through the song “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” of the Chinese version.

Listen to more Chinese Christmas songs!

Christmas in China

Do Chinese people celebrate Christmas? The answer is YES, but because Christmas is not a public holiday in mainland China and most Chinese people are not Christians, only a small portion of people celebrate it, mostly the young people.

Having said that, Christmas is very popular in big cities of China such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, etc. and you can see many Christmas trees and decorations around Christmas time. Christmas is more popular in China’s Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan due to the foreign influence there before.

How do Chinese people celebrate Christmas? In China, there is a tradition of giving apples on Christmas Eve. The apples are wrapped up in beautiful colored paper, but the price can also be ridiculous expensive, maybe 10 times or more than usual price. People give apples on Christmas Eve because in Chinese "Christmas Eve" is called 平安夜 pínɡ'ān yè. Other ways of celebration includes going to parties with friends, appreciation of fireworks, and gathering with families, etc.

Christmas Words

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